The Secret Side to the Mark of Athena
by Erialc Ylime
Summary: What happens when a demigod is made from scratch? Exciting adventures occur and friendships are created. That's right, Hephaestus has created the first ever homemade demigod! *NEW* I'm going back to clean up mistakes and the terrible 'OOCness'. Is that cool with you? Great. And I will also be putting up the deleted scenes. This story might update many times without new chapters. :)
1. Really? Percitrina?

Hello everyone!

This is my first fanfiction and I am very excited about it. And I know- _another stupid OC! _But truly there was no other character that would fit in the narrator's role other than my own. I'll try my best to not make her a Mary-Sue, though I'm still experimenting. I know that I could not ever predict what happens in the next Rick Riordan book, The Mark of Athena, so I created this story as the _Secret side of the Mark of Athena_.

All of Claire Jackson's adventures somehow save Olympus and defeat Gaea! But in the end, no one will ever remember the life existence of Claire Jackson, except you, that is. Doesn't it feel awesome to know secrets? Please enjoy and review.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters besides the main character. Rick Riordan is awesome!

-Eri :)**  
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***Revised***

**This indicates that I went over the chapter after October 9, 2012. If you have any comments and would like to make any suggestions, I would be happy to take any criticism under consideration. Thank you for viewing!**

* * *

Chapter 1: Really? Percitrina?

Sup? The name's Claire, and this is the true story of my death filled life. It begins at the very beginning of my existence- and I know, I do sound like a drama queen, but let's get one thing straight: I do not exaggerate.

I was born not even six months ago, literally.

_But how are you still fifteen?_ You may ask. And there is an explanation, maybe not a _logical_ one, but it's what really happened.

I am a demigod, a child of a Greek god that you probably have read about in those colorful children's books. You know what I'm talking about, the ones that have the pretty pictures of the woman whose is body covered in the hills of the earth and the man in the sky filled with constellations. That would be Gaea and Uranus (I know, I had trouble not laughing while composing this), those two that created all of the gods, titans, Cyclopes, monsters, and the gods know what else in Greek Mythology.

Then you'd flip to the next page to see a giant man in a toga eating his little babies. A lovely mental image, no? How that eases a child's mind off to sleep will always wonder me. That was a picture of Kronos the titan. He is the one who tried to take over Olympus a few years back, but we (the gods and demigods) prevailed.

Of course I wasn't in that battle, I was just a blueprint in Hephaestus' workshop at that time.

* * *

There I was alone, just... being. Darkness filled the space around me.

_What is that feeling inside me? _I thought.

_Life? No- It is existence._

_Alright. . . where am I? Wait a minute, _who_ am I?_

"Don't worry, child." a stentorian voice said. I couldn't tell where it was coming from. It seemed so far away- yet right in front of my nose.

"I am your Maker."

_My maker?_

"You may call me Hephaestus."

_Hephaestus? _That's an odd name. I wonder . . .

"Yes, is there an echo in here or is it just me?"

Hephaestus, I've heard the name before. Or maybe it just reminds me of someone sneezing. _He-phaestus! _See? No, it was something from a great book. A greek Mythology book. _Wait- you don't mean. . . t-the god, do you? _I thought.

Hephaestus laughed a thunderous laugh. It was so deep, it shook up my insides. "Yes my dear. I am Hephaestus the god of blacksmiths and fire. I have been waiting for you to finish computing and finally reboot."

My mind went numb. _Reboot?_

"Yes. It has taken a while for all that information and the genes to seep into the memory base. But there is enough room for future storage."

_Memory base? _What on earth . . . or in Olympus was this god talking about?

"By Hades' temper! I think the echo's back!" the god joked. "But yes. You have a memory base that holds up to twenty-five million gigabites. That's over three billion songs!"

_Hephaestus, sir. Can you please explain this whole conversation to me again? And tell me why I'm here? _I asked. This was just too much to take in without knowing this creepy man, who claims to be a god, and what he did to me.

All of a sudden, his face appeared out of the darkness. When his face became clear, I realized why he was hidden in the first place. He had dark-brown fierce eyes, scars on his forehead, and to top it off, a disheveled beard.

If you think about it, a face like that emerging from darkness is quite scary. I gasped in surprise, but when he realized that I was frightened he smiled at me. His fierce eyes melted into warm, comforting ones.

"Just wait, child. It is actually time for you to awake." the god sighed and stared at me. "You are my greatest creation since the automaton statues." he said. "I give you my blessing. This means that I will treat you as my own child and love you the same."

He waved his hand over my head and something behind me began to shine. I turned around to find only darkness. Then I looked down to my waist and found that _I_ was the thing glowing.

Who was this guy, I mean god, and why was he blessing me? Maybe he knows who I am. Maybe he knows my family! Maybe he _is _my family. Maybe I'm like one of those kids who is half god and stuff!

_Are you my father? _I asked.

"No."

_Then, who is? Who are my parents? _I inquired. Do I even have parents? That would have been a better question.

"I will bring you to your father shortly. He will tell you everything. Now, if you don't mind waking up, my wife has made you and I some breakfast."

_I'm asleep?_

"Wake up, now." After he said those words his smiling face dissolved into the black darkness and I was alone again.

* * *

My eyes shot open and I woke up in a bed- I mean a _really_ comfortable one. It was warm and soft, I had half a mind to go back to sleep!

I looked around the room. I was in a little log cabin- cottage thing that had only one room. There was a workshop table in the corner with a tall, built, crippled man hunched over it, working on a project in the dim light.

_That must be Hephaestus, _I thought

He didn't notice me wake.

So I studied the room a little more. The unique shields that hung on the wall and the double-edged swords. All were meticulously crafted.

_Hephaestus must have made all of these._

Suddenly I felt a sharp pain inside my chest. It kept growing and growing. I sat up and started to panic. I struggled with the sheets and became flustered. The pain made me feel like I was going to implode! I started waving my arms to attract the attention of Hephaestus, but he was too engrossed in his work, he barely noticed me! I tried to scream.

Once I opened my mouth, oxygen piled into my lungs. Relief spread through my body.

_Oh, I just forgot to breathe, that's all._

I untangled my self from the bed sheets and walked over to Hephaestus. I had trouble acquiring my balance at first, but I eventually got the hang of the whole two feet thing.

"So, you're finally awake." he said without even looking up at me.

"Y-yes." I replied. I admit, I was a little nervous of speaking in front of a god. It wasn't like talking just to his face as I had in my dream. His whole being was there. Not his full seventy foot _godly_ being, but still, just his presence was radiating power.

He put down his project and turned to look at me.

"Now, let me see you." His big hands twirled me around. "Ah, you look like her." he finally said after inspecting me for a bit.

"Like who?" I asked.

"Like my wife. I modeled you after her, you know. Although you do resemble a lot of your mother." he replied. The feeling of being modeled after someone blew my mind. Just the thought of being created by this man- thing- I mean god already fried it.

"My mother? Who-?" Hephaestus cut me off.

"As I said, you father will tell you everything. No need to get feisty. Now, the sooner we eat the sooner we can meet him. Come on, your eggs are probably cold already."

He got up from his chair and guided me out the door.

Apparently, I wasn't in a cottage. It was more of a mansion with a room modeled after a cottage. We walked down the longest hallway in all of architectural history. Every hallway that I could think of seemed to be at least two-hundred feet shorter than this one. Whoa, where did that come from? Well, arrived at what must have been the twentieth door.

"Here we are" he announced. "This is the dining room." He opened the door that revealed the most beautiful dining furniture and chandeliers.

"Wow." I said under my breath.

"Beautiful isn't it?" a woman asked. She carefully balanced our three plates into the large room.

How could this woman talk about beauty like that? She was beauty herself. Her clear blue eyes shimmered along with her long green gown. Her long golden hair that curled perfectly down her back contrasted magnificently with her flawless pale skin. Not only that, her eyes seemed to change into a swirl of green and hazel. Her hair changed from blond to a gorgeous deep dark brown. Were my eyes playing tricks on me? Her features kept changing into something more beautiful each time.

_Gosh, I wish I looked like that._ I thought.

"Hello dear." Hephaestus said to her. "Child," he turned back to me. "This is my wife. Goddess Aphrodite."

"The goddess of beauty? Seriously?" I asked.

Taken aback, Aphrodite answered my question, "Yes, that is me. Do I not seem beautiful to you, child?" She curiously looked me up and down.

"No, no, no. I mean, yes, you are beautiful, but _no_ as in that's not what I meant to say. I was just . . . surprised is all."

''You are surprised that I am a goddess or that I am beautiful?" she asked with a perfectly raised eyebrow.

Oh gosh what did I get myself into?

"Neither. It's just that I . . . uh . . ." I looked to Hephaestus for help. He just shrugged his shoulders. _Thanks for the help, god of fire_. "It's just that Hephaestus, um, he said that I was modeled after his wife. I uh, had no idea that was you. . . . You are just so astounding that I can't believe I am a girl made to look like you."

Whew! Close one. I waited for her to respond to my explanation.

"Well, don't cut yourself short dear. You are very beautiful. But I must say, it _is_ impossible to come even _close _to a goddess' perfection."

Was she saying I was pretty? Wow, for a woman like her, that was more than a complement.

"Hmm, well, we should eat now." Hephaestus suggested.

Aphrodite set the plates on the table and we sat and began to eat.

"So, you guys are gods right? From, like in greek mythology?" I asked swallowing my food before I talked. _Be polite in front of the gods. _I thought. _They can incinerate you!_

"Yes. I know all this is hard to take in, considering that you just came to life." Hephaestus said.

"_Just came to life?_" I asked

"It's hard to explain. You see, you are one of my creations, one of the best actually. But we will get into the details later with your dad. Now I think I should explain to you that you are a demigod."

"A _demigod_?"

"Yes. A demigod is a child of one of the gods. Your father is a god and your mother is a mortal. You are half god and half human. Which is why you are a _demi-_god. Get it?"

"So what exactly does that mean?" I inquired.

"It means that you have certain powers that correspond with those of you father's."

"I have powers?" I exclaimed. So much for politeness. My mouth hung open and food almost fell out. I quickly closed it though, and continued. "Ok, so let me get this straight. I'm a demigod-"

"Yes."

"Who was created by you but you can't tell me exactly why I was-"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"And I have the same powers as my godly father?"

"Not exactly. You have limited power- No scratch that, you have limited _energy. _With enough energy, you are capable of anything. But because you are half mortal your powers are limited."

"Ok. That's useful information. . . . Anything else I should know?" I joked.

"Yes. We will be visiting you father today." Hephaestus said coldly. Apparently he doesn't like sarcasm.

There wasn't any conversation for a long- and I mean _long-_ time after that. Just dead, awkward silence. Hephaestus broke the silence with a loud _Ahem!_

"After I finish breakfast, I will need to leave. Do you know where my new coat is?" he said directing the conversation toward Aphrodite.

"Hanging up in the closet in the foyer. But, dear, Why are you leaving so early in the day?" she asked.

"I have some errands to run. Some weapons to deliver." He waved his had in a way that said _like-I-do-always _and then he continued, "Do you have a coat her size?" He said gesturing towards me. "The weather out there is brutal and I promised Poseidon I'd bring her to him as soon as possible."

"My father is _Poseidon_?" My eyes grew wide.

I was a daughter of the sea-god? I didn't know if I should be excited or worried . . .

* * *

I followed Aphrodite to her closet.

"Come now, don't dally." She said. We entered a corridor. She went to the third door on the right, but before opening it she turned to look at me. "I know my husband wanted me to find you a coat, but I'm going to give you the whole Aphrodite makeover!" She said with enthusiasm. She opened the door.

_Hallelujah, Hallelujah!_

It was the largest walk-in closet that there was, and ever will be!

It was basically Aphrodite's own personal mall. It had three stories that included escalators and elevators. On each floor there must have been seventeen stores of different famous brand names. I could even see a food court! Yes, a _food-court, _in a closet! Aphrodite's personal tailors were bustling about with tape measures around their neck and magical fabrics in their arms. It was amazing to see the different kinds of material they used. There was a strip of fabric made completely out of water and another one of lava. I followed Aphrodite around the 'closet'.

We arrived at a store called 'Gorgeous Gods'. I followed Aphrodite in. She whipped around to look at me, and she studied me carefully. At the snap of her fingers, one of her tailors came to assist her.

"Yes, m'lady. How may I help?" she asked.

"What size is she? I can't really tell . . ." she said.

Without missing a beat, the tailor lifted up my arms and pulled out his measuring tape. He measured the length from wrist to wrist, then the length from my shoulder to my hip, and then another measurement that went all the way around my waist. (This all took like, ten seconds, by the way.) He rolled up the tape and announced that I was Medium Adult -12/14.

Aphrodite thanked him and started searching through the racks of clothes (not the magical ones, thank goodness!).

I was shuffling through one side of the clothes while Aphrodite was on the other.

"You know, first impressions are the most essential part of a new relationship." she said looking at me over the clothes. "Not just in romance, but also in friendships, boss/employee relationships, and even in father/daughter relationships." she raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows at me.

"Is that why you're giving me the 'whole Aphrodite makeover'?" I asked.

"Yes. How you are dressed is only one part of first impressions. How you behave and approach your father I cannot help you with, but as you can tell- beauty and clothes are my specialty!" she exclaimed. "Because your father's domain is ocean, water and all that good stuff, I thought your look should match. We'll have you go _natural._" With emphasis on 'natural'.

She ended up picking a blue-green, wave designed top that's sleeves flowed when I moved. She wanted me to wear a short, black mini skirt but then decided no. She said that it wouldn't work when I got to the camp. What camp was she talking about? Anyway, She decided to let _me_ pick out the bottoms. I chose the comfy, grey yoga pants.

"Great! Those are in style!" she said. "Now, lets move on to hair and makeup!" Ugh!

Hair and makeup wasn't that bad. She and I got our hair done at "Hebe's Hairdos". I've got to say, it was the most relaxing thing I've ever felt! How they massaged your scalp with soap and water and the nice warm feeling of the hairdryer. I loved it! That feeling went away quickly when she got my ears pierced. Ouch! I can't believe a girl would _want _to get their ears punctured with a machine like that. I thought the employee was going to shoot me in the head!

Well, Aphrodite picked out a simple hairdo for me. Slightly layered in the back and thinned bangs.

"It'll go well with your dark hair. And just wait 'till Fabiano comes in. He'll define those cute little curls!"

It turns out, I really liked how I looked. She said that because we went with the natural look, not a lot of makeup, only mascara would do. After all that, I felt great.

"Well now, I believe we are done." Aphrodite sighed. "Oh wait! I completely forgot about the coat!" She snapped her fingers and four tailors arrived with different styles of coats in my size.

"This one" I said. It was a nice warm and trendy brown coat. Aphrodite nodded in agreement. Then leaned to whisper something in the servants ear. After a short while he came back with the most gorgeous purse ever.

"For you dear. It has an extra blue tank top and black yoga pants inside. I stuffed in some converse sneakers (in case you want to change into more comfortable shoes than those boots) and that curl spray Fabiano used on you. Careful though it's highly flammable. Also watch this." She pushed the purses label and it transformed into a nice backpack. "It still holds everything in it, but I thought this would be easier to carry to the camp." What camp?

She handed me the bag then looked at me with loving eyes. "Oh," she said in a motherly voice. "You are a daughter worthy of me. You are very beautiful dear, be careful out there, and don't ever be afraid to love." Then she did something that Hephaestus did to me. She waved her hand over my head and said.

"I give you my blessing. This means that I will treat you as my own child and love you the same." I glowed. She kissed me on the forehead and brought me to Hephaestus. I was on my way to meeting my father for the first time.

* * *

"Well, don't you look snazzy." Hephaestus commented.

"Sorry it took so long Hephaestus." I replied, "It was all Aphrodite's idea." I rolled my eyes and he chuckled.

"Ah, knowing my wife, I should have seen this coming." he laughed again. "I hope you two had fun though."

"Yes, we had lots of fun." While Hephaestus put on his coat and hat, I started thinking about Aphrodite's blessing. "Hephaestus?"

"Yes?"

"You remember when you came to me in my dream, right?"

"Of course."

"Aphrodite did the same thing that you did to me then. She . . . blessed me. What does that mean?"

"It means that . . ." He put his finger on his nose and paused to think. "When gods say 'I give you my blessing. This means that I will treat you as my own child and love you the same.' and wave their hand over you." He waved his hand over me as an example. "It means that we consider you as part of our family. The reason I did it was because I created you. I crafted you with my own hands and some of the rarest material that is the most life-like. Why Aphrodite did it I do not know. Gods have their own reasons for adopting demigods into their families. Usually only for _extra special _purposes. Maybe because you were modeled after her she felt obliged to do it."

"Oh. She is very sweet."

"Yes, but not always. She can be very deceiving. Always be on your guard around her. She can manipulate your feelings." he warned.

On or way to the ocean, Hephaestus taught me about all the gods. The Big Three and the minor gods, even the titans. He taught me about certain monsters and how they could kill you.

_Great_. I thought.

He quizzed me on them the whole way there. You know, I had no idea what Poseidon will be like. I was quite nervous actually. I was glad though, that Hephaestus had blessed me. He's an awesome dad.

We arrived at the water's edge. Waves came crashing down on the shore. Hephaestus looked at me.

"Are you ready?"

"Oh yeah." He smiled at my response and he instantaneously transported us into an underwater forge.

* * *

There were giant men hustling about hammering and melding golden metals. There were beautiful shields and swords and even armor all around the walls just like in Hephaestus' mansion. Until one of the men looked up at me, I had no idea I was in a cyclops forge! Then they all realized that we were there and started to bow.

_Oh, they are bowing to Hephaestus because he's a god . . . right._ I thought. Then they continued their work. I've never seen cyclopses before. They didn't look too different from us. Just a height difference, oh and the whole one eye thing.

"Are we in the right place?" I asked Hephaestus.

"Yes. Even though I am a god, underwater is your father's domain, not mine. Though, I can do forges. This isn't the only way I can get to Poseidon's palace, but it's the easiest." He held my hand and led me out to the palace garden.

We were completely underwater. What I mean to say is, that water was completely surrounding us. There were coral reefs and seaweed bushes and beautiful fish I've never even heard of swimming all around me. The unusual part though was that our clothes were still dry and we could actually breathe.

"How are you doing that?" I asked Hephaestus.

"Doing what?"

"Allowing us to breathe like this."

"Oh no, that's not my doing. That's you. You are a daughter of Poseidon. If you were not holding my hand, I would have a harder time than you, with me being the god of fire and all. I would still be able to breathe . . . somehow. But this is your element that you're most comfortable with, even if you don't know it yet."

"Oh." Wow. Awesome, I could breathe underwater!

We walked through the garden and arrived at the front entrance of my father's palace.

_Knock_ _Knock_ _Knock_.

A merman opened the door.

"Hello, Poseidon welcomes you." He said. His voice came out bubbly through the water. He gestured his hand toward the foyer. As we entered through I thought-

_This is nothing compared to Hephaestus' mansion._

In truth, it was quite large for a palace. But Hephaestus brought a whole new meaning to the word 'large'. The Merman guided us into the next room, Poseidon's throne room. Then the water began to drain out of the palace.

"Poseidon will be right with you two." He said bubbly as he exited. Soon after a tall man with black hair and beard entered the room. He had on a turquoise suit and a blue tie with a bubble pattern on it. Though he didn't look the 'business man' type. He seemed more like the kind of guy who spends his Saturdays fly-fishing.

_That must be Poseidon, my dad._

_"_Hello, Hephaestus. Thank you very much for taking care of my daughter." he greeted shaking Hephaestus' hand. His voice was smooth and deep. It sounded assertive yet comforting. He looked at me and smiled, revealing laugh lines by his eyes.

"No problem Uncle. She is great company." he replied. Poseidon looked at me with admiring eyes.

"Now, my darling, how much did Hephaestus tell you?" he asked me.

"Uh." I was speechless. He looked at me as if he knew me forever when I just found out that I have a completely unnatural life, an actual family, and a Greek god as a father! And I'm supposed to take this in just fine? That is _not _the way I roll. "Who are you?" I said with my terrible audacity. I didn't care if he was asking me a question! I needed mine answered first.

"Why, I'm Poseidon." he replied smoothly.

"Who are you _really?" _I pressed further.

"I am the god of who you assume. And I am also your father."

"Huh." I sputtered. I looked 'my father' up and down getting used to this new concept in my 'memory base' as Hephaestus would put it.

"Now, will you please answer my question?" the sea-god said, finally becoming impatient with his daughter.

"Well, he told me that I am a demigod," I counted out the information on my fingers. "And all about the gods and titans. You know, the Big Three: meaning you Zeus and Hades. He even told me about the minor gods."

"Anything else?"

"He told me about how I would possibly face monsters and what kinds. I forget some of them, but I do know the hell-hound and the Minotaur-"

"Don't say their names out loud!" Hephaestus warned.

"Yes child, names are very powerful." my father agreed. "What else?"

"He told me that he created me, but wouldn't tell me why." I gave my father a curious look. "He said that was something to discuss with you . . ." my voice trailed off.

"Yes, which is something we must discuss right now. Please, take a seat." he said. Hephaestus and I sat in the guest's chairs. It was weird. I could _feel_ the power of Poseidon, like I had with Hephaestus but it felt different. Hephaestus' felt warm and comforting. Poseidon's felt cold and deep, yet still comforting. It's funny how I felt about both of them, reflected their powers.

"Now, my darling. Let me explain. I shall start at the beginning." Poseidon said. He sat down and stared at me as if looking for the words to say. "Not too long ago, The Oracle of Delphi came to Olympus."

"We were actually very surprised that she made it all the way up to the 600th floor of the Empire State Building without waking the mortal host . . ." Hephaestus said.

"Yes we were, now will you let me tell the story?" Poseidon snapped.

"Sorry . . ."

"Now, as I was saying- She delivered a part of the Prophecy of Seven That only the gods could know. She said:

'_To save the Olympus- an attempt goes awry: t__he child of Poseidon in the end must die.'_

She also said some other stuff, but this one really stood out to me."

"Wait- I was born to-to _die_?" I asked.

"Unfortunately . . . yes. I have only one other demigod child. His name is Perseus Jackson-"

"Then why can't _he_ die?" I wailed.

He waggled his finger at me for interrupting. "He has a much greater fate, dear, but that takes place in the distant future. I have great plans for him and this prophecy was about to wreck them."

"So what? I was created to die in my brother's place?" I'm appalled!

The god scoffed. "When you say it like that, it sounds terrible!"

"That's because it _is_ terrible! I-" I exclaimed.

"Child, calm down." Now he interrupted me. I don't let anyone interrupt me. Not. Ever. "I love you very dearly, but the Fates have their own ways and prophecies are full of different meanings. You might not even die in this prophecy."

"But you're hoping I will . . ." I said under my breath.

"Now, let me explain how you came to life. I was going to ask Prometheus to create you, but right now he is on Kronos' side, and Kronos wants revenge on your brother and would have gladly used you to do it. So the next best god for the job," He gestured toward Hephaestus. "Agreed to create you."

"So what am I? A robot or something?" I asked.

"No, you were made with the most human like material. You _are_ practically a human! You just don't have one certain essential thing. . . ." his voice trailed off. "Anyway, I gave Hephaestus my genes to put in you for you to be a demigod. Also almost all information about the Greek language and Greek Mythology is embedded in your mind. Plus, Hera suggested that you could use some Roman knowledge too. So Hephaestus threw that in last second. Now, for you to have the highest chances of dyin- I mean saving the world." He took a bottle off of the bookshelf. There were a bunch of different animated pictures of a boy with black messy hair and green eyes fighting and goofing off with friends floating around inside. It was labeled "Percy's Memories".

"I have copied Perseus' memories. I am going to give them to you so that you may be able to know all about his life and have his skill. Maybe we can confuse the fates." He opened the bottle and the pictures flew right into my mouth.

All of a sudden, flashbacks of me appeared in my mind. I was fighting a tall, gold glowing guy with blonde surfer like hair.

_Kronos- no that was Luke's body possessed by Kronos. What the? I don't know a kid named Luke? Percy's memories . . . right. Wait? He fought Kronos?_

I then realized I wasn't me. I was taller and muscular and flat-chested.

_Ok . . . I'm a guy . . . This is freaking' weird._

The flashback changed. I was in an apartment and a woman was cooking over the stove. What was it? It smelled like french toast, but I looked over and found out it was _blue_ french toast. Strange . . .

_That's my mom. Sally Jackson. _I realized. Though the blue food seemed really creepy, I felt like the blueness was connected to me.

I remembered cutting off the Medusa's head and killing the Minotaur with its own horn. I remember showing up to my own funeral after escaping Calypso's Island. So many things I remembered, I felt like I did them, but then I remembered: In reality I've done nothing.

The point- remembering someone else's memories makes everything officially weird.

"Well? How do you feel." Hephaestus asked.

"Strange. I feel like I've done so many things that . . . that I haven't done." I explained. It really felt like I had no control over my body. I was waiting for my arm to jerk involuntarily and do the chicken dance or something. That's how unstable it was.

Hephaestus chucked and Poseidon continued. "That's normal. Now that _that's_ over, it's time we discussed your name." Poseidon declared. He pulled out a notepad from his desk that was off to the side of the room, and started flipping through it. "Tiffany, Clarisse- wait, er, no. Um, Violet, Coleen, Katrina, Juliana, Margo, _Francis_-"

"Uh, no, dad. Just no." I interrupted.

"Here's my favorite one. Percitrina. How do you like it?"

I sarcastically said, "Yeah, it's cute I guess." I made a disgusted face to show how much I didn't like it. He just shrugged it off.

"No? Well here's another one, Claire."

It's nice. "That sounds pretty." I smiled.

"Shall I tell you what it means?"

"It . . . means something?"

"Of course all names we give our children have meanings. We try to at least. Sometimes we just pick a name because it sounds cool."

"What does mine mean?"

"Well, I thought of it in my Roman state which is why it derives from Latin. Claire means clear. Just like clear water I want you to be pure and full of integrity." he smiled at me. "If you don't like it I have others here, but Hephaestus and I like that one the best besides Percitrina." he blushed.

Had he thought about me that much? Did he really love me? Of course he wanted me to die, but he prepared everything for me.

_Gods don't always have time for their children. They usually aren't allowed to get to involved in a relationship with them. _Percy's voice echoed in my mind.

"I love it." I said. I truly meant it, but having my _godly_ father pick out a name for me feels like he loved me before I was even born.

"Great! Claire Jackson. It has a nice ring to it." he exclaimed excitedly. "Now, umm . . . I have to erase you memory."

"Whoa- _w__hat_? You just gave me Percy's memories!" I yelled.

Poseidon calmed me down. "I'm going to send you to the surface. But you can't tell anyone what you know. Nothing about the prophecy, nothing about Percy's memories, and nothing about being created and not born. They might think you've lost your mind! Gone insane. Off your rocker as Perseus would say. I will leave you with your name and your ability to control the water and the powers that Hephaestus and Aphrodite have given you."

I was about to tell my father that I was in no condition to forget everything I had learned in the past twenty hours, but then it hit me, "Hephaestus and Aphrodite gave me powers?" I asked.

"Yes. When they blessed you, you _became_ part of their families. You are one of their demigod children now too." Poseidon said. I looked at Hephaestus in astonishment. He just blushed and smiled at me sheepishly.

"So I'll remember how to control my powers?"

My father shook his head. "No, I will leave them with you. But you will have to figure out how to use them on your own. Because I will only take your memories, not destroy them, when you see something you recognize, you will remember it."

My eyebrows furrowed. "Will I ever get all my memory, and I guess Percy's memory, back?" I asked.

"Yes, when I claim you, your memory will immediately return to you."

"When you claim me?" Too late. He said some words that I missed and my memory was erased.

"Goodbye Claire. Safe travels." A man with black hair and a beard said. _Wait, Claire's my name!_

All of a sudden water rushed in through the stain glass windows and pulled me out into the ocean and all I remembered were bubbles. Lots and lots of bubbles.

* * *

**Please- I ask you with all my heart- Review! :D**

**Until next time!**

**-Eri :D**


	2. I am Called Idiotic by a Fish

Chapter 2 is up! Yes! I'm happy. It is Thursday (Actually, it's one hour before Friday morning. My apologies).

Please read and review. I respect constructive criticism. Plus, I'd love it if you'd let me know if you read it- even if it was for just a second. It would make my day! Next Thursday is Chapter 3. Be on FanFiction to read it!

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO series. All credit goes to Rick Riordan.

-Eri :)

***Revised***

**This indicates that I went over the chapter after October 9, 2012. If you have any comments and would like to make any suggestions, I would be happy to take any criticism under consideration. Thank you for viewing!**

* * *

Chapter 2: I am Called Idiotic by a Fish

Water threw me all around. I tumbled and probably ate about a pound of sand. I couldn't get to the surface for air and I felt the water close in around me and the darkness cover me.

I was cold, tired, annoyed, and very confused.

The water was freezing. I had no idea what type of clothing I was wearing, but it did nothing to keep me warm.

My body ached from, well, everything. I either was lacking sleep or I over worked my body. How had I overworked my body? All I know is that my shoulders and abdomen were sore from trying to swim and sand burns.

I was annoyed because I had no idea where I was. Was I still in the water? Had I drowned and gone to heaven? Or was I in hell?

I was so confused that I didn't even know if I was alive! I had no sense of who I was. My name? What do I look like? How old am I? And the ever-haunting question, where the heck am I?

* * *

After being knocked out, I finally washed up on a beach somewhere. I was unconscious. Well, not really. I mean I _was _conscious, but more like paralyzed. I could hear the birds around me and feel the cold water escape from underneath my body then rush back in with the tide. I felt the warm sun on my back, but I just couldn't move. I tried my hardest to wake up.

_ Wake up, wake up. Wake up! WAKE UP!_

Could I be stuck like this forever? I really don't know _who_ I am. I have no idea _where_ I am. All I know is that I have an important job to do . . . but I don't know what!

I must have stayed on the same part of the beach for hours.

_I probably have horrible sunburn on my back!_

_Crack!_

What was that? I heard something moving a little off to my right. Footsteps.

_AHHHH!_ I really hope that's not an animal!

_Please be a person. Please be a person! _I wished with all my might.

"What the-" a voice said.

_Yes! It is a person! _I thought.

The person dropped whatever it was they were carrying and rushed over to me.

"Oh my gods . . ." Okay it was definitely a guy's voice. He put his hand on my head.

_You stupid boy! There is no pulse in my head! Check my wrist. Check my wrist!_

"She's alive!" he gasped.

_Maybe I was wrong. Then again, Anatomy isn't my strong point._

He picked me up and carried me over to a shady place where he apparently camped out. He started talking to himself.

"Alright . . . I'll fish over there, no over here so I can keep an eye on her. Gotta get my spear." He sounded really nervous for some reason. He picked up, I'm assuming his spear, and headed toward, to what I could only guess was, the water.

"I'll be right over here." he called to me. It sounded more like he was reassuring himself though.

* * *

I stayed unconscious for most of the day. I felt useless. Maybe because I was! But if only I were awake . . . Eh, I hate being useless.

I listened to the boy work. While he was fishing I heard him become frustrated and he started grunting.

"Agh! Stupid fish! I wouldn't want you for dinner anyway!" He finally caught a few after a lot of misses. "You're mine! Ha ha ha!" he said jokingly. After he caught enough fish I heard him start on a new activity. He climbed up to a tree next to me and started fumbling with something. I couldn't tell what he was doing. That just made me more interested. And being more interested made me frustrated that I couldn't move!

He had trouble in the tree, or that project took a really long time. So, I got bored and fell asleep.

* * *

My mind drifted off into a terrible place. It was dark but somehow, I could make out where I was. Something in me knew I was at the main gate of the Underworld. My body floated and was partially invisible. I fluttered past the people waiting in the E-Z Death line. _Hm. The Underworld is pretty organized, _I thought. No one noticed me, not even Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog. I drifted past the Hall of Judgement and the Fields of Asphodel. Everything appeared immensely silent, gloomy and well, plain old sad. I had no control over my body. It had no steering wheel! I picked up speed as I headed towards a palace. Hades' Palace.

_Whoa, talk about creepy. It looks like Death threw up all over this place._ My body reached the doors of Hades' Palace. I didn't stop though, my body went right through the doors!

_Am I a ghost? Extra creepy._

I went through most walls and arrived in Hades' throne room. He sat regally erect next to Persephone, the goddess of plants, flowers, spring, and growth. She was very beautiful, but nowhere near as some other goddess of whom I can't remember. Next to Persephone sat Demeter, the goddess of agriculture. Hades got up and walked towards me. Demeter and Persephone didn't move. Their facial expressions were horrid! It seems that Demeter glowering angrily at Persephone and Persephone was pouting. Wait a minute! They were frozen in time! How could I not realize it? The only reason was able to pass Cerberus was because he was frozen also! Everything I floated by, how could I be so oblivious?

The god of the underworld looked interesting. He had dark hair and very pale skin. His eyes were black and beady. It was like he could stare deep down into my soul, which he probably could being the lord of the Underworld.

"Claire, dear niece. How are you?" the god of the Underworld asked me. _Claire!_ That's my name.

Hades was tall, thin and pale. He had dark hair and a long black cape that attached to his shoulders.

"Is this a dream?" I asked ignoring his question. Hades laughed.

"Do you like to dream about the Underworld and dead souls?"

"Your right." I agreed with him. _This is more like a nightmare!_ But dare not say it out loud. This is Hades corner of the world, or under the world, I should say. I wasn't going to insult him in his home territory.

My eyes traveled around his dreary throne room. "Did you bring me here?" I eventually asked.

"Yes. To warn you." he said.

I cocked an eyebrow. "Warn me? Don't you hate me? I mean you are the god of the Underworld, right?"

He scoffed. "I know. Just because I'm labeled Ruler of a Dark Realm, I have to be the bad guy. But that doesn't mean I'm _that_ insensitive."

"Oh. I just thought. . . ." my voice trailed leaving empty space in our conversation. "You wanted to warn me about something?" I asked, bringing the conversation back on track.

"Yes, I wanted to warn you about being on your guard at all times."

"Ok."

"I mean it. Really. Gods can be very deceiving. Even me." he said mysteriously.

"Oh, Hephaestus warned me about Aphrodite being deceiving." I blurted out. Whoa. Where did that come from? I must have had a confused look on my face, because Hades noticed.

"Don't worry dear. Everything will become clear soon."

_Clear, that's what my name means!_

"Thank you Hades for the advice." I turned to leave.

"Oh, I'll let you go in a moment, but I also have a task for you." His face was serious.

"Yes?"

"Can you . . . can you help my son?" He said. I could see the sorrow in his eyes. "He is very distraught over the loss of my daughter. She had passed away a couple of years ago. His emotions have been progressing since- since the accident, but he's still not himself." he paused as if he was searching for words to say. "He's very lonely. He keeps pushing friendships away."

He smiled for a slight second. "He is kind, but he keeps his distance in a group of people. Can you take care of him for me? As a god, I cannot interfere with my children's lives as much as I want to." Hades looked distraught himself. I had to help his son. It must be terrible to lose a family member.

I accepted the mission. "Of course. Who is he?" But Hades looked as if he were about to cry. He put his head in his hand and waved his other hand and at me as if to say _dismissed_, and I was gone.

* * *

I woke up in the evening. It was dark out and stars just started to appear. The boy was trying to start a fire. He didn't notice me wake.

He had jet black hair that was long and shaggy, and olive skin. His eyes were a deep brown and he had on a black t-shirt and jeans. The boy was probably my age, 15. Though was probably taller than me. For some odd reason . . . I recognized him. What was his name? Nick? No. . . . Oh well. He was becoming frustrated with the wood snapping before it caught on fire.

I finally sat up and he noticed me. He dropped the sticks.

He scrambled over to me. "Don't be afraid! I just rescued you is all." he said coming over to me.

"I know." I replied calmly.

His eyebrows furrowed. "You know?" he asked.

"I wasn't fully unconscious. Somehow, I could hear and feel everything, but couldn't wake up. I really wanted to help you with whatever it was you were doing. I felt useless. It was really frustrating." I looked down at the stray pieces of tinder. "Speaking of frustrating," I continued. "Need a little help there?" I eyed the unlit fire.

"Sure, be my guest." He gave me new sticks pulled the tinder together. "Be careful though, I wouldn't-" I took them and carefully placed them over the fire pit. With the first rub, sparks flew and the fire was started. He looked at me quizzically. "Beginners luck." he decided.

He went over to a basket hanging from the tree and pulled out a fish.

"Oh, that's what you were doing. I heard you messing around over there, but couldn't make out exactly what you were working on." I said. He smiled at me. He had all of the cooking supplies set up and started preparing the de-scaled fish rotisserie style.

After it was fully cooked, he used his pocketknife and cut the fish in half and placed it on two big black shells as plates. He prayed for the food and I began to eat. He, on the other hand, took a piece of his fish and tossed it into the fire. I looked at him quizzically and continued eating.

"So, thanks for saving me . . . and for dinner. I thought I was going to be there forever and drown when the tide came in." I said trying to start conversation.

"No prob."

I looked back at the boy in front of me wolfing down his food. "Actually it is a problem. Now I'm in your debt." I told.

"Nu-uh. You're fine." He cooked up more fish and ate more fish. I wondered where he put it all.

"So, what's your name?" I inquired.

"Nico." _Nico! _It's not Nick. It was Nico, Nico diAngelo!

We continued to eat in silence. Did he wonder who I was? Maybe he knew who I was, but no matter, I needed to get him talk. I ached for some form of socialization. "Well, if you don't know, I'm Claire Jackson." He looked up and briefly smiled with a chunk of food in his mouth and dropped his head back to his plate.

It was awkward just eating there. "Quick question," I said. "Do you know who I am?"

He shrugged so I continued. "Like, did I was up with any ID or other articles that would give me clues to who I am?

He scowled at the fire pit. His face brightened and he held up a finger. He got up and went into his make-shift crater/shelter. "This yours?" He tossed me a familiar looking purse.

"Yes! I completely forgot about it! Thank you!" I felt the soaked leathery parts. It pealed with bits of sand and salt sticking to my fingers.

"Sorry if it's ruined." _Yes, four words! _He was making progress.

"No. It's not ruined. It just needs to dry." I said not so sure of myself. I tossed it to the side and we finished our dinner with out one word questions and answers.

* * *

We sat there and watched the stars after dinner. It was beautiful. First Nico yawned, and you know how yawns are contagious, so I yawned also.

"Tired?" Nico said after a while.

"Even though I've basically spent the whole day sleeping, yes. I am." I shivered.

Nico reached over and pulled out a blanket for me.

"Where did you get this from?" I asked.

"Things wash up on the shores. It's surprisingly comfortable."

"Thanks." I smiled at him. For a while, the only sound was the crackle of the fire.

So I lied there looking past the fire at Nico.

His dark hair shined in the moonlight. He crossed his legs and put his hands behind his head laying on his aviator's jacket and looked out into the stars. He appeared to be in deep thought. I had to admit, he was quite handsome in a mysterious way, but I had too smart of a mind to trust him just yet.

"Hey. I have a question for you." I said propping myself on my forearm.

"Shoot."

"How did you get stranded here?" I asked. "I mean you know how I did. Well as much as _I_ know I did anyway. And that's not saying much because I can't remember." he breathed a laugh.

"Well I can't quite remember how I got here either. I think I was on a boat with my- uncle." he told, "The boat went right into a storm, capsized, and we were all thrown over board. Even though I ended up here, I was probably one of the lucky ones, you know, actually finding land."

"And your uncle? What happened to him?"

"Don't know." he looked sad. I thought not to bring the subject up anymore.

Eventually the fire died down and Nico fell asleep. I was afraid to. I kept hearing the wind whistle and a rustle in the trees. I also kept thinking about what Hades said to me. I was afraid that I'd have another dream again. The only comforting thing was the waves crashing on the shore.

"Nico? Are you awake?" I called. No answer. "Nico?"

Nico just rolled over with back towards me. I decided to think happy thoughts.

_Rainbows and unicorns. Wait, I don't even like rainbows and unicorns!_

'_Always be on your guard. Gods can be deceiving. Even me.' _Hades voice echoed in my mind.

_Oh great! Now I'll never be able to sleep! Hades will always be here haunting me!_

I decided to sleep next to Nico that night. I took the blanket and lied down next to him.

"Good night Nico." I whispered. We lied there with our backs to each other. I felt safe and protected with Nico there. As I was just about to close my eyes I felt a tap on my shoulder. I gasped. I turned to see Nico staring at me. "You scared me!" I loudly whispered.

"Sorry. Are you alright? I heard you call my name." he said groggily.

"Yeah, I did before. I just," I bit my lip. "I had a nightmare earlier and I'm afraid to go to sleep now." I admitted.

"It's alright. There's nothing to be afraid of. Tomorrow is another day. We can think of a way to escape this island. Don't worry everything will be okay." he said and rubbed my shoulder in a brotherly way. He rolled over again facing his back toward me. I spread the blanket over both of us and I nudged my back right up to his. I'm not quite sure, but I thought I heard him softly chuckle.

* * *

Over the next couple weeks we thought of an idea. We'd build a raft and sail back home. Wherever that was. Out of working together grew a friendship. Every day we went into the jungle behind us and took down fallen limbs of trees for the raft.

We had fish every night. I kind of got sick of it, but hey, it gave me something in my stomach and energy to work the next day. I didn't get much sleep those nights because I was paranoid. I started having dreams about Hephaestus and Aphrodite.

'Remember, child. We have given you our blessing.' They'd say in unison.

One night I was so tired of helping Nico with our plan, as soon as I hit the sand, my eyes closed and I was out.

* * *

My dreams didn't get any better. This time my body wasn't even there! I was watching a scene. There was a huge hill with a single Pine tree on it. On the tree was something that was glowing gold. I saw boys that were half donkey! They had furry legs and hooves, also horns on their heads. Donkeys don't have horns. Then again neither do boys . . . There were cabins and _normal_ kids walking around. Wait! They were walking around with swords in their hands! What the- In the arena kids my age and younger, mind you, were battling!

I recognized one of them. It was a tall boy with shaggy, long, dark hair kind of like Nico's. He had fierce, bright green eyes. He was attacking a poor blonde girl. She was very muscular and had captivating grey eyes. She looked as if she could kill the boy! But the boy was laughing at her.

"Come on Annabeth! I know you can do better." he teased wiggling his butt. It wasn't really a battle, it was more the boy was defending himself and the girl was lunging at him. They fought and fought like this for at least an hour. She went for his legs and he leaped. She went for his middle and he blocked her knife with the hilt of his sword. This went on until the girl got tired.

"Percy," she breathed. "Let's take a breather."

"Alright," He took out a pen cap and put it to the tip of his sword and it shrunk down into a pen. Whoa, awesome! He stuck it in his pocket and walked over to her. She surprised him by pushing him up against the wall. She held the knife at his throat.

_ Oh no! Don't kill Percy! _I thought. _Don't kill him you horrid girl! Leave him alone._

Annabeth looked at him fiercely and then relaxed her arm and kissed him full on the mouth. Percy kissed her back.

I'm not a professional swordsman, but I don't think that's part of battling. They looked at each other and then Percy put his arm around her waist and they walked out of the arena together.

_That's so sweet! _I thought.

As soon as I thought my dream was over, Annabeth came back into the arena and walked straight towards me . . . or where I was watching from anyway. Could she see me?

"I don't care who you are, or what you're going to do." she said to me. "But you better leave Percy, me and the rest Camp Half Blood alone. Or you'll have to deal with me!" she threw her dagger at my view spot and the dream was gone.

* * *

I woke up and found that Nico was gone. I got up and washed myself in the ocean.

_Wooowee! That is cold water!_

I went to my purse and found there was nothing in it.

"I swore there were extra clothes in here . . ." I placed my knuckles on my hips. Nico came up behind me and said.

"Oh yeah, I hung those up to dry." He pointed over to a clothesline fashioned out of twigs. And there, of all things, were my extra bra and underwear. How embarrassing!

"Thanks!" I blushed and ran over and retrieved them as fast as possible. Nico smirked. "What are you laughing at?" I said. My ears were probably bright pink.

"Nothing, nothing." he said shaking his head holding his hands up in defense. Ugh! Boys. I went into a bush and put on the extra clothes and took the ones I was wearing down to the shore to wash them.

As I was washing them fish started swimming all around me, more and more coming.

_Wow, if we caught these we could have a feast for dinner_ I thought.

"Hey, Nico! Did you catch anything for dinner yet?" I called.

"No, why?"

"Pass me the basket right now! There's a lot of fish right here!" He took down the basket from the tree and tossed it to me. I put my laundry aside and gently put my hand in the water. To my surprise the fish jumped right into my hand!

"Hey, Nico! Come look at this!" I called. He huffed and dropped the raft he was making and came over.

"What the-"

"I know! It's so weird!" I had two fish, three fish, five fish! So many fish I filled up the whole basket. Nico just stared at me. Then he said something in a high tiny voice. "What did you say?" I laughed at his airy squeak.

"What?"

"You said something." I furrowed my eyebrows.

"No I didn't."

"No, I did!" A tiny voice called. I looked down and realized I heard a fish. I had heard an actual fish talk. He spoke English.

"Yup, she's a dumb one." Another fish said.

"AHHHHH!" I screamed and dropped the basket. I ran onto the shore next to Nico and stared at the fish. The fish piled out of the basket and swam away.

"What's wrong?" Nico asked.

"Didn't you hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"T-the fish . . . the fish actually s-spoke to me!" I explained.

"What _are_ you talking about?" he asked.

"You heard me! And one of them called me stupid!"

"No I called you dumb, idiot girl." The fish said.

"See? Didn't you hear that?" I asked Nico. He looked at me like I went insane.

"Um, I think you should rest in the shade for a while." he said. He did think I was insane!

"I'm not crazy! You have to believe me!" He pulled me over to the camp out and sat me down and plopped down next to me.

After what seemed eternity in silence, he said, "I don't think you're crazy."

"You- you don't?"

"I think I know what's going on."

"You do? 'Cause I don't- Honestly, I'm freaking out here." I held my hands up in an honest fashion.

"Do me a favor. Be angry at me." He looked at me. He seemed like he was serious. What in the world was this boy planning?

Maybe I didn't hear him right. "What?"

"Be angry at me. Get mad." He looked me straight in the eye, so I knew he wasn't joking.

"Why?"

"Just do it." he pleaded.

I shrugged and gave it a try. "Grr. I'm mad at you." I said. I frowned and scrunched my eyebrows and clenched my fists into little balls. Not very convincing, I might add.

"Really, that's the best you've got?"

"Well I can't just become mad on _command_."

"But I told you to." he frowned.

I snorted. "Just because you told me to do something doesn't mean I have to do it."

"Yes it does. I saved you life." he declared.

_He did not just go there!_

"You can't hold that against me. I'm my own person."

"You owe me." he said staring directly at me. "Remember you're in my debt." I suddenly didn't like Nico. I stood up.

"You said it was_ no prob. _You can't tell me what to do." I crossed my arms and started to walk away. He got up and turned me around.

"This is _my_ island." He grabbed my wrist and began to drag me to the other side of the island.

"Where are you going?" I whined. "Let go of me!" Now I really _was_ mad. He couldn't just order me around, even if he asked a simple question. He would have to be like a gentleman, polite. Just then a huge wave crashed down on the both of us. I was knocked onto the sand and was soaked in sticky ocean water. The worst part? He had fallen on top of me. I grudgingly pushed him off and shook the water off of me. I looked over to him and he was smirking. Seriously? He was literally ginning from ear to ear.

Even though it was annoying, it was quite becoming on him.

"What are _you_ looking at?" I said as I rung out my blue top.

"Stop with the sass. I just figured out your problem."

"Oh _really_? What is it then?" He smiled. What in the world was Nico thinking?

* * *

Nico told me what he thinks is going on. He thinks that my dad is the sea-god, Poseidon. The god from Greek Mythology? Ha! He told me that I'm a demigod and that he's one to! What a joke!

"Ok, now you're the insane one." I said.

"No, no, no. Listen to me. I can prove it." He grabbed a stick and looked at me.

"Well? I'm waiting." I said. I put my hands on my hips.

"Just . . . just don't be scared." he said with worry in his eyes. He closed his eyes and jammed the stick in the ground. Nothing happened. He focused harder. Then my eyes grew wide as I saw bones rising from the ground. The started assembling themselves together and made skeletons. Oh my god. _This is too scary. . . ._

I backed away. No, that's an understatement. I ran away. I ran as far down the beach as I could. Nico noticed me run and chased after me- and the skeletons were following him, to technically, the chased me too.

"Wait! Come back! I can help you!" he called. I heard the clatter of bones following me.

"Yeah, help me DIE!" I screamed. I ran from Nico, he wasn't a friend anymore. He gained on me exceedingly fast. He caught up to me and pulled me to a stop with my arm. "Let go of me! Leave me alone!" I struggled to get out of his grasp. He held onto my wrist with one hand and held out the other. The skeletons dropped to a pile of bones at his command.

"Just let me explain first then you can decide on what you want to believe." I struggled one last time and then I relaxed.

"Fine, just don't . . . touch me." I snapped. I jerked my had out of his and we walked back to our camp out. I cautiously stepped around the pile of bones.

* * *

Nico had explained to me that the reason that I could understand fish was because my dad was Poseidon. He told me that _I _was the one who caused the wave.

"That's why I wanted you to get mad. When demigods' emotions are heightened their powers are extremely sensitive. I had assumed that you were, you know, different when you washed ashore, but I had to test it to make sure."

"Ok _that's_ understandable. But who's _your_ 'godly parent'." I said sarcastically.

"My dad is one of the three most powerful ones like yours. His name is Hades god of the Underworld."

_Oh my god. Hades told me to take care of his son. Was Nico the boy Hades was talking to me about? _I thought for a moment and decided to ask.

"Do you have a sister by any chance?" I couldn't believe I had the nerve!

"Totally a-change-of-the-subject-question, but yeah . . ." He looked depressed. Maybe Nico _was_ this boy. "She . . . she passed away a few years ago."

_He _is_ Hades son._

He continued, "I didn't really come here with my uncle. I shadow traveled here, something I will tell you about later, to find my sister." he had trouble talking about this, I could tell. "After death, she went for rebirth. No I have no Idea who she is and where she is in the world. She wouldn't even recognize me." he explained.

"I'm sorry." was all I could say.

"S'okay, I've got a job to do now." he said as he grinned at me.

"What?"

"I have to bring you to Camp Half Blood."

"Someone told me about a camp." I thought. Who told me about _the _camp? "Aphrodite! Aphrodite told me about a camp!" I said. "She told me . . ." I looked over at my purse. "She told me it would be hard to carry a purse all the way to camp for some reason, and said that- now if I remember correctly." I pushed the purse's label and it transformed into a backpack "She said that _this_ would be a whole lot easier to carry." I grinned at Nico.

He just stared dumfounded at the backpack.

"Now, you were saying? Something about this _Camp of Blood__?"_

"Camp _Half _Blood. Demigods are also called half-bloods. This camp is a place where you learn to master your powers and train to fight monsters."

"Monsters? Hephaestus told me about these monsters." I said. How do I keep remembering these conversations with gods I barely know!

"Yeah, sure. Speaking of monsters we better get you to camp right away. Now that you know that you're a half-blood, your demigod scent becomes stronger. Which means they'll find you easier. So, let's leave."

"Right now?" I asked.

"Right now." I picked up my clothes and put them in my bag. I slung my backpack over my shoulders. I paused and thought for a second.

"How are we going to leave though? We don't have transportation." I told him. He seemed in deep thought.

"I was just thinking the same thing."

"What about that shadow travel thingy you talked about?" I suggested. Nico looked at me.

"If you were scared of the skeletons, I don't know if shadow traveling is such a great idea." he said.

Pfft. I wasn't _afraid. _

"I wasn't _scared_ of the skeletons. I was afraid of what you were _doing_ with them. I'm brave." I said proudly.

"Alright, if you're okay with it."

"I am _fine_ with it death boy." I said jokingly.

"Yeah, don't call me that. No hop on." He leaned down.

"You want me to hop on your back?" I asked sarcastically.

"Well, unless you want to walk across the ocean, your choice."

"Well, _can_'_t_ I walk across the ocean?"

"Duh! You're a daughter of Poseidon, but have you mastered your powers like I have?"

"Good point." I hopped on him.

He started running with me on his back. He headed towards the trees.

"Nico!" Was he blind? He almost got us killed by a tree, but right before we hit it he ran through a dark portal, which I could only assume was a shadow.

Nico kept running. His speed accelerated.

_No person could really run this fast,_ I thought. Then again I forgot about him being a demigod.

I heard screams and creepy moans all around me. My face felt numb from the speed we were going at. Then I saw light coming closer. Nico ran into the light.

We appeared in a forest . Ahead of me I saw a gigantic hill with a pine tree that held the golden blanket like I saw in my dream. Was this the place I dreamed about? If it is, I'm steering clear of that blonde girl!

"That was awesome!" I yelled. I was jittery from the adrenaline.

"Here we are." Nico panted. He was on his knees coughing and catching his breath almost vomiting.

I felt my mouth begin to pout. "I'm not that heavy am I?" I asked.

"No, not that." He gasped again. "Shadow traveling tires me out. I can usually only do it once a day and if I'm lucky twice a night." he said. He stretched and shook his head. "I'm okay. Come on, I'll introduce to my friends." He smiled but he still looked worn out. We trudged up the hill.

_Camp Half Blood, Here we come!_

* * *

Please review! Hope you had fun on their little expedition. Nico and Claire have many adventures to come!

Bye for now,

-Eri :D


	3. Goodbye One Eye

Guess what? IT'S THURSDAY!

Hi guys! I figured out how to use this website now! Hehe. I found out how to see how many people view my story through traffic stats. Pathetic I know, just finding this out now (oh well, at least I figured out how :/). I just wanted to thank those of you who read it more than once. I'm excited! You know, I'd be more excited if I got some reviews *hint, hint*. Thanks anyway. I hope you enjoy this next Chapter. It's sort of a filler but sets the friendship between Claire and Nico.

-Eri :)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters for they all belong to Rick Riordan.

***Revised***

**This indicates that I went over the chapter after October 16, 2012. If you have any comments and would like to make any suggestions, I would be happy to take any criticism under consideration. Thank you for viewing!**

* * *

Chapter 3

We walked through the camp. It wasn't at all like my dream. No one was walking around and battling. No half donkey boys were trotting around. The whole camp was empty. I expected to see a tumbleweed roll by any second.

Nico decided that we should go to the Big House. He told me that's where Chiron, the camp director centaur (Yes the same one who mentored Hercules.) and Mr. D, Dionysus the god of wine, stayed. He told me Chiron always knew what to do. Even his eyes displayed his wiseness.

We walked up to the Big House and knocked. Dionysus answered the door. "Oh, well! What has the son of Hades brought for me today?" He snickered looking at me. I smiled weakly.

"Hello Mr. D . . . Where is everyone?" Nico asked. I could tell Nico had a strong dislike to Mr. D by his harsh tone of voice.

"Oh, They are all in their cabins. Since Anniebell and a few of her friends had to go on a _special_ quest, Chiron decided to go with them. I am officially in charge without that _centaur_ nagging me to do the _right_ _thing_." He had a blissful look on his face. "So why not shut the little brats in their cages? I thought. And that's what I did." He smiled.

"You can't just do that. They have to _train_." Nico nagged.

"Don't speak to me in that tone boy! _Death_ has no power over _immortals_ like me, remember?"He waggled his finger as Nico.

My italian friend pouted. "I'm sorry . . ." Nico mumbled- very insincere. "Then what am I going to do? I need to speak to Chiron."

"Well, I'm afraid you weren't on the boat when it took off, so no seeing Chiron today."

"Boat? What are you talking about?" Nico asked. I just stood there watching their conversation like a volleyball game. _Back, forth, back, forth. _

"The Argo II of course! The one that little, annoying, mexican boy built, Leroy."

"Argo II . . . Leroy . . .I'm completely lost."

"You think _you're_ lost?" I chimed in.

Mr. D laughed at me. "Now who are you?"

My voice continued to appear weak. "Claire."

The god bent down and put his hands on his knees. "Well, I'm so vewy sowwy you can't meet the horsie man wight now sweetie. He went to the _Roman_ camp called Camp Jupiter. But you know nothing of that. You hardly know anything at all." Mr. D mocked and patted my head. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Hmph." He dusted off his hands. "Well, you can all leave now. As I said, I made the campers stay in their cabins. That doesn't mean special _tweatment_ for you." he said it like we were mortal preschoolers.

He shooed us out onto the Big House porch and slammed the door behind us.

"Geez, a _god_ treats you guys like that?" I asked.

"That's nothing new." Nico replied. We started down the porch when the door behind us swung open again.

"Oh, and by the way children. Don't stay out too long! The harpies are on _day_ duty now!" He said with a devilish smile. He slammed the door _again_, which made me jump.

"So what do we do now?" I asked him adjusting the backpack on my shoulder.

"Like he said: If we want to meet Chiron, we have to go to Camp Jupiter." Nico got an idea face.

"Oh, where is that?"

"The Roman Camp is just east of Berkeley California." I wanted to ask why he knew that, but I decided to ask him later. I didn't want to be harpy chow.

"Great! But . . . how do we _get_ there?"

"I . . . don't know." His expression dropped. "It's going to be a while before I can shadow travel again, but we better keep moving before the harpies get a scent trail on us."

We walked around the camp. I was paranoid. I kept looking over my shoulder for the so-called harpies. . . .

"Hey! Can we use the horses!" I said as we reached the stables. I ran up and peaked inside and saw the most beautiful black horse- with wings?

_Who are you callin' a horse?_

"Did you just hear that? The horse talked!" I exclaimed. I looked back at Nico, who was obviously amused by my childish nature.

_I'm _not_ a horse!_

"Oh, yeah. Poseidon created horses, so you can communicate with them like Percy does." Nico explained.

_HELLO? Did you not just hear me? I'm NOT a horse! I'm a PEG-A-SUS!_

I completely ignored the horse and zoned off into my own little world like a total realization moment transpired inside my head.

"Percy . . . Percy Jackson's my brother." I said strolling away the horse.

"Yeah, you both are a child of Poseidon." Nico said.

"No, it's more than that." I looked at Nico directly in the eyes. "I'm Claire _Jackson._" I didn't know what that meant, but it was something important.

_ You're boss' sis?_

"Apparently."

"No, that's not possible. Percy never spoke of a _sister_. He would've told one of us."

"I don't know how, but it _is_ possible." I said. Suddenly, we heard harpies in the distance.

_"Campers, oh, campers! Come out, come out wherever you are!"_

"Look we can discuss this later." Nico said quietly. "Right now we just need to get to Camp Jupiter without being noticed."

"Alright Blackjack, can you take us to Camp Jupiter? Your name is Blackjack right?"

_Yes and yes, ma'am!_

We hopped on Blackjack. I was in front and Nico sat behind me with his hands around my waist.

"To Camp Jupiter!" I yelled. Blackjack hovered several feet in the air.

As soon as I said it, harpies zoomed around the corner of the stables.

_"Don't leave delicious campers! Don't leave!"_ They flew after us. _"We are very hungry! You naughty campers. You left your cabins! Come back for your punishment!"_ They were right on our tail until we escaped the magical boundaries. They got stuck there.

Blackjack took us across the sky. Seeing Camp Half Blood from a high view made me realize, I had been there before. Or at least I thought I had. Soon Blackjack went even higher. We soared above the clouds. I tried touching one of them like people do in the movies. It wasn't at all like I imagined. It was wet and humid and just plain gross!

"So. Percy's sister huh?" Nico said over my shoulder.

"I guess so. I've never met him, but I feel like we're connected. As soon as you said his name, I-I just remembered a lot. I know _tons_ about him. Too much." It was true and weird. Here I knew nothing about my own life, yet it was like I had memorized the details of someone else's.

"Interesting . . . Can I quiz you?"

"Sure. Give me all you've got." I smirked.

"What's the name of Percy's sword?"

"Riptide."

"In Greek?"

"Anaklusmos" My tongue seemed to know exactly what it was doing. I didn't even need to think.

He scratched his chin. "Hmm. What's Percy's favorite color?"

"Blue."

"How many people and monsters has Percy fought?"

I frowned. "You want me to name them all?" I asked.

"We have time. Don't we?" He had a point.

"Ok. Lets see. The Minotaur, hell-hounds, Medusa, Chimera" Took a breath. "Furies, telekhines, Manticore, Nemean Lion, Kampe, Polymephus," Took another breath. "Ares, Hades, Atlas, Kronos, King Minos" Breath, "Luke Castellan, Ethan Nakamura, _Clarisse_-" Nico interrupted me.

"Never mind you're right. It will take forever. Next one. When's Percy's birthday."

"August eighteenth."

"How tall is he?"

I pursed my lips. "About 5'10? That was what it was last time mom measured." Nico froze. I couldn't tell whether he was shocked or he had a good question coming. It was possibly a tricky one.

"What are his true feelings for Annabeth Chase. If you get this one right. I'll believe you." he said looking at me over my shoulder.

I could remember everything about Annabeth. I remembered that she kissed Percy whenever he did something stupid. The way she was always right, and well, he loved her. I felt confused. Percy's feelings bubbled inside me. I never had emotions that strong. I never felt that way about anybody.

"Percy loves Annabeth. As a partner in battles, a friend, a sister, and a girlfriend." I thought for a moment.

_I have to impress him with this answer,_ I thought and continued. "But right now, they're not together. They've been separated. He feels lonely and misses her." Nico didn't say anything for a long time.

"Alright, I believe you. How you could know they're not together is incomprehensible."

"Now it's my turn to ask you some questions." I said. "Why is a god running your camp?" I felt like I should've known this, but this memory was a bit fuzzy to me.

He hefted a sigh and I felt the air run on the back of my neck. It sent chills down my spine. "There was this beautiful little nymph that was totally off-limits for Dionysus, but he didn't care. He went after her anyway. Zeus, his dad, found out about his forbidden affair and punished him by sticking him as camp director for one hundred years and a took away wine privileges."

"So Zeus basically is punishing the half-bloods for one hundred years, huh?"

"Not one hundred years anymore, Zeus reduced the time when Dionysus helped out in the battle a few years ago, but yeah. It's more like _our_ punishment instead of Dionysus'." Nico explained.

* * *

After a while I realized that Blackjack was slowing down.

"Hey buddy. How are you holdin' in there?" I asked him.

"I'm fine, how about you?" Nico replied.

"Not you. I meant Blackjack."

_ I'm doing okay ma'am. But you are getting a little heavy though. I don't think I can make it the whole way to this camp of yours._

I knew not to push Blackjack too hard. He would go to extreme limits to get you a glass of lemonade!

"Don't worry. Whenever you get too tired, just let us down and we'll make it the rest of the way." I reassured him. I rubbed his side and he whinnied.

We actually got pretty far before Blackjack dropped us off in the woods somewhere.

"You're sure you'll be okay flying home by yourself?" I asked Blackjack.

_Yeah. Hey, do you guys have any sugar cubes on you?_

I looked at Nico. "Do you have any sugar cubes for him?"

"No, and you can't have them anyway. Chiron says they aren't good for you." He stepped back from the creature. "And he should know!" Nico told Blackjack.

_Naw, okay. Say hi to boss for me if you see him!_

"Ok, I will." I kissed him on the snout and sent him flying. We watched him fly away unlit he was just a little black speck with wings.

"So," Nico said as we hiked through the woods. "Where are we and how to get to the camp from here?"

"I have no clue."

We kept on hiking.

"So, let me get this straight. You said I'm a demigod. Things I didn't think existed. Also that the gods from Greek mythology are real right?" I asked him. It seemed like a possibility since I knew everything about my brother when I haven't even met him.

He sighed. I don't blame him. We've been over this concept a million times. I just still couldn't believe it. "Correct."

"Ok." I started naming all the Greek gods I knew. "There is Poseidon, my dad apparently. Umm, Zeus, the king of the gods."

"Right."

"Hades, the god of the Underworld. Those are the 'Big Three' right?"

He kicked a stick in boredom. "Yup."

"There's Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. Athena, the goddess of wisdom. They both pledged never to marry right?"

"Yes, although, Athena does have some demigod children. I don't know how, and I'm not gonna ask." Nico's eyebrows shot up. "Artemis on the other hand, never interacts with men and boys. She goes to the extreme and makes her hunters pledge to swear off boys for eternal life." He said.

"Okay . . ." I responded. Wow. Artemis has some dating issues. "Now Apollo is her brother, the god of music and archery right?"

"Not just those though." Nico explained. "Apollo is also the sun-god. After Helios retired, Apollo took over the job and now drives his chariot, with the sun trailing behind him, across the sky every day."

"Oh yeah. Hephaestus told me that." I said.

Nico stopped walking. "By the way, what is it with you and these secret conversations with gods? First Aphrodite and now Hephaestus?" Nico asked me. Was he accusing me of keeping secrets from him?

"I don't know? I just remember talking to them." I shrugged my shoulders. "I feel like I've talked to my father also." I remembered. "All I know is, Hephaestus told me all about how monsters and titans aren't on our side."

'Remember, child. We have given you our blessing.' I heard them echo in my mind.

I stopped to decide if I should tell Nico the dreams I've been having. He was trustworthy, right? "Nico, I have to tell you something." I finally said. I was going to tell him. Maybe not the one about Hades though. That one may involve him.

"Yeah?"

My fingers nervously intertwined with each other. "I've been having dreams, dreams about the gods."

"Oh, that's normal. That's one way that they can communicate with us without getting into too much trouble."

"No. This one means something. Hephaestus and Aphrodite kept repeating the same words over and over again. 'Remember, child. We have given you our blessing.' What does that mean?" I looked at Nico for an answer.

"I have no idea. When we get to camp we can ask Chiron." he assured me.

We must have hiked for hours. It felt like we were going in circles. I got cuts, bruises and my sneakers got really muddy. We continued on as the moon started to rise.

"It's getting dark, Nico. What should we do?" I asked tiredly.

"I still don't have enough energy to shadow travel right now, even though it's dark out. I guess we'll have to stay here over night."

"O-over, n-night?" I stuttered.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine." he assured.

We set up camp, which wasn't much. We found a soft patch of grass and found some sticks in the woods to make a fire. Again, with the first rub, I started the fire. Maybe Hephaestus' blessing had something to do with it. Oh well.

We lied in the warm summer air. I used my backpack as a pillow to prop me up. We weren't near the water like we were on the island so it wasn't as cold. The thing I loved about this place was the continuous sound of crickets chirping.

I looked over at Nico.

"Thanks." I said.

"For what?" his voice came out soft.

"What do you mean _for_ _what_?" I sardonically replied. " You saved my life, figured out who I am, explained to me all about this whole other world I never thought existed and now you're helping me get to this camp where I can truly find my purpose." I breathed a laugh. "And you're asking _what?_" Nico just laughed.

"I'm not a _hero-_"

"But you are." I interrupted him.

"Well, thanks for the encouragement. But I'll never be a _real_ hero_._"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, take your brother for instance. He practically saved Olympus and the gods existence. He was such a great hero, that the gods granted him any wish, _including_ the choice to become a god himself." Nico laughed at the memory. "He was even _too_ good of a hero, that he wouldn't accept it. Though, I think he refused the wish because he likes Annabeth, and if he became a god he couldn't be with her. Instead of becoming a god, he wished for something to help demigods of all kind, but we aren't allowed to speak of it." Nico said.

"He wished that the gods would all claim their demigod children by the age of thirteen. That they have to at least acknowledge that the demigods are their children right?"

"Yeah. How _did _you know that?" Nico said astonished.

"I don't know! I just remember it! Maybe I have some connection with Percy that I can read his mind or something." I shrugged my shoulders.

"We'll figure it all out soon." He looked at me strangely. And we fell asleep.

* * *

Stupid dreams! I hate, hate, hate them! This time everything started out blurry. When my vision became clear I realized that I was on a boat. There was only two people on it though. I saw that blonde girl . . . Annabeth was her name? I don't remember. Well anyway, she was talking to this other girl with short choppy brown hair. It wasn't the professional choppy either. It looked like she stuck her head in a blender! Lucky for her, it still looked cute.

I couldn't quite hear anything yet, so I studied my surroundings. The ship was beautifully crafted with a golden dragon's head at the bow. I looked over the edge of the ship and saw we weren't in the water, but rather flying in the air.

_Is this the ship Dionysus was talking about? Could Chiron be on this ship?_

Suddenly my hearing became clearer and I heard their conversation.

"I hope Jason's right. If we've come all this way and Percy's not at Camp Jupiter, then I don't know what I'll do." Annabeth said.

"It's okay Annabeth, we all think Jason's right. Even Chiron. But you know, even if Percy isn't there, it doesn't mean we'll stop looking. We still have to make peace with the Romans anyway. So this trip won't be for nothing." The other girl assured her.

"I'm worried either way. Ok, if Percy is at the camp, will he remember me? I mean, look at Jason. He still doesn't know if all his memory is back . . ." her voice trailed off. I think I saw a tear roll down her cheek, but I wasn't sure because the wind was whipping at her hair covering her face. "I'm also worried how the Roman demigods will react to us. Will they declare battle?" Now tears were streaming down her face. "These past few years . . . I haven't once, fought a battle without Percy."

"Oh, no. Don't cry! Look, you are the strongest girl I know. You've taken on so many monsters. If _you're_ scared of what might happen, what does that say for me?" the girl exclaimed. Annabeth started laughing though.

"Oh please Piper, you've taken on the biggest monster of all, Drew." Then they laughed together. Annabeth dried her tears. They hugged and all of a sudden I heard a loud hum. It was coming from the loud-speaker.

_"Oh, he, he . . . Sorry everyone." _said a boy's voice on the loud-speaker. "_This is the Supreme Commander of the Argo II speaking. I have an announcement for you, so please listen carefully-"  
_

"Cut to the chase Leo!" Piper yelled.

_"Shut up Piper! As I was saying . . . Oh yeah! Um we are about to enter some turbulence. I ask you all kindly if you would form a single file line as you head below deck. Thank you."_

Annabeth and Piper just laughed as they walked to the stairs that headed to the bottom of the ship.

_"I said single file!"_

"Leo, Annabeth and I are the only ones on the deck."

_"Captain's orders." _he replied. Piper rolled her eyes and walked behind Annabeth down the stairs.

Like in my other dream, my body wasn't there, I was only watching scenes.

Well, my view spot followed them down to the lower portion of the Argo II. I walked into a really awesome room. It was like the dream hang out place for teens. It had a huge wide-screen tv, video games, computers, a laptop specifically labeled 'Annabeth: Don't touch Leo!', a mini library with all types of Greek mythology books and the latest People magazines, and a snack bar. The snack bar included a popcorn machine and soda fountain and a display of the best candies out there.

_Wow. I wish I were really here! _I thought. I had forgotten that I haven't eaten anything in the past forty-eight hours.

I saw Annabeth working on her special laptop. She was looking at some blueprints labeled 'Daedalus #49'. She was staring at it intently. She kept scrolling through the plans for about an hour. She finally shook her head and turned to a boy with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was sitting right next to Piper with his arm around her watching a movie.

"Jason, I don't get this." she said.

Jason gasped. "No way! The daughter of Athena finally stumbles upon a problem she can't figure out?" he said sarcastically.

"Ha ha. Very funny. But yes, I don't understand why these blueprints would help."

"Hey, your mom said they would. And she's the goddess of wisdom. I wouldn't doubt her strategy." Piper chimed in.

"I don't doubt my mom. I just want to know what her strategy _is."_ Annabeth replied. She sighed and closed her laptop. "I think I could use a break." she said. She walked over to them and sat down next to Piper. "Ugh, you guys! What are you watching?"

It was a black and white episode of _I Dream of Jeannie._

"I don't really know. I wasn't really paying attention." Jason blushed.

"Oh sorry guys. I kind of forgot you two are . . . together now . . ." Annabeth got up. "I'm gonna see how Leo's doing."

"You don't have to leave Annabeth. It's okay-" Piper started to say.

"No. I want to make sure he's managing the ship okay. See you later." she said.

My dream decided to follow her. She went up to the highest level and found Leo laying in the captain's chair playing with a toy boat. He looked Puerto Rican and had curly dark brown hair. He quickly noticed her and threw the toy to the side and sat up.

"Saw that."

"I know." he replied.

"How's it going? Did we get through the turbulence?" Annabeth said breaking the awkwardness. Everything seemed very tense in the room.

"Yeah. A while ago."

'I barely felt it.'

"Oh, that was my flying boat expertise." he said proudly.

"Or you asked Jason to help you." she guessed.

"Did he tell you guys? He promised he wouldn't." Leo pouted. Wow Dionysus was right, this kid did sound annoying.

"Don't worry Leo." Annabeth laughed. Annabeth turned and looked directly at my view spot again.

_Uh-oh. Can she see me again?_

Annabeth glared at me.

_I guess that answers my question . . ._

_"_I'll be right back." Annabeth told Leo.

"Whatever."

Annabeth left Leo playing with his toy boat again and unfortunately my dream followed her.

_Stay with Leo! Please dream, I'll take back what I said. He isn't that annoying!_

She went out onto the upper deck and growled at me.

_Whoa, girl. Nice little girl._ I thought.

"What? You don't understand warnings?" Annabeth asked.

She moved in closer to me cornering me up against the side of the boat. If my face was in the dream, we'd probably be nose to nose.

'Stop following us, whoever you are.' she continued. 'And I _mean_ it!' She pushed me off the side of the boat and I was falling. I fell and watched the Argo II get smaller and smaller.

All I kept thinking was.

_AHHHH!_

* * *

I woke up with a feeling that of falling.

"AHHHH!" I screamed. My eyes shot open and I realized it was Nico shaking me, not Annabeth.

"Shhh!" Nico whispered. "You don't want them to find us do you?"

"Who? What?" I asked.

"You were screaming. You have to be quiet if you don't want the cyclopses finding us." He said. He kept looking over his shoulder.

"Cyclposes? What are you talking about Nico." I asked groggily.

"There is no time to explain everything, Claire. But lets just say some hungry cannibal cyclposes are on the hunt for us. And we'd be a pretty tasty morning breakfast" He explained. I jumped up.

"Then we'll just have to be fast food." I said. "Get it? Fast foo-"

"Yeah, hilarious." he replied. I snatched my bag and followed Nico as we ran through the woods.

_What an exciting morning!_ I thought.

I also thought: _Great, more running. _

We ran as fast as we possibly could. Dodging trees and rocks the whole way.

I was still in a daze from last night's dream. With the Argo II on their way to the same camp we were. I was scared. Especially since that Annabeth girl wants my head on a silver platter.

_Great, not only my dad wants me dead. So does this girl I barely know!_

Huh? Oh, no. Not another one of these. Those stupid conversations with gods. Nico doesn't even believe me about these, soon I might even lose his trust.

_ Whoa!_ I almost ran into that tree! I gotta keep focused. I shook my head and was brought back into reality.

_No more daydreaming._ I told myself.

As I said, Nico and I dodged trees and roots and pretty big rocks.

Jump!

Swerve!

Duck!

Jump again!

After running for about half an hour. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack!

"Nico, I'm really tired. Can we _rest_ for a bit?" I panted.

"Oh, yeah. I think we lost 'em." he said and we stopped. I breathed heavily. I started coughing and coughing, then I felt something in my stomach flip.

"Uh-oh." I said. My face must have turned green. I ran to the nearest bush and vomited.

"Ok." Nico said. "I'm glad we stopped." He came over to me and held my hair away from my face. He rubbed my back and tried to comfort me. "It's okay. you'll live through it." he said. After I was done I was really embarrassed.

"Sorry." I blushed. "I really don't feel good."

"No kidding." Nico said. "You look really pale. And- Oh!" He plugged his nose. "Don't speak. You need a breath mint first!" He made a disgusted face.

"I'm in no condition for running from cyclopses right now if you can't tell." I said as we started walking through the woods.

"Really?" He replied wittily.

"Yes." I snapped. I was in no mood for jokes. I felt like Cerberus poop. Poop that's three times as worse, if you didn't get the pun.

"Well, are you up for shadow traveling?" he asked. I was okay with it, but if going that fast made me dizzy before, how would it effect me now?

"That's our best option right now." I admitted.

"I agree. Hop on." he said I jumped and wrapped my arms around his neck from behind. "Hey!" He said. "You're not as heavy as before."

"I would think so!" I replied. "For the past fifty hours I haven't eaten anything and have been running incessantly! And the fact that I just upchucked like a gallon of my body weight, I think I'd be lighter!" I said. Nico laughed. I looked at Nico's face and because I was on his back, I was really close. I said, "Not that I need to lose weight, right?"

"Eww! You're breath!" Nico pinched his nose with his hand and we laughed.

"Stop making fun of me and just go." I urged and we shadow traveled to a forest in Berkeley California.

_Umph_! Nico grunted. He was still tired I guess, because as soon as we entered the light he collapsed and I fell on top of him.

"OW! Get off!" he yelled.

"Sorry, and hey, you said so yourself. I'm not that heavy."

"Not that! I fell on something sharp!" He stood up and I saw a blade. Thank the gods it wasn't perpendicular to the ground, or it would've killed him! It was right where he landed. Nico lifted his shirt and I was a scrape that went across his chest. "Oh, it's not that bad." he said. He was right he wasn't bleeding terribly or anything. But just the fact that he landed on a _blade_ was nerve wrecking.

"This place doesn't seem safe." I said.

"No kidding, Ms. Obvious." he replied. I just rolled my eyes at him.

We walked a little further and found a stream. We both decided we should wash up. I waded in and even thought my clothes were completely submerged they were dry. Even weirder than that is the moment my skin touched the water my cuts a bruises started to heal.

Nico decided to take off his shirt and clean his cut revealing a lean partially muscular body. If I hadn't spent two whole weeks with Nico I would be completely weirded out that he had taken an article of clothing off, but we were closer now. He winced as he tended his wound, but his cut wasn't healing like mine had though. I thought for a moment. Could I help him? I went over to Nico.

"Can I try something?" I asked.

"Just be careful, it stings." He warned. I cupped water in my hands and poured water on his chest. He seemed okay with that, no pain. Next I put my hand on his chest and he flinched. But as soon as my fingers came in contact with his skin his cut turned white and began to dissolve into nothing. I felt his heartbeat racing faster and faster. He breathed a sigh of relief. He looked up at me and smiled. Not the type of smile he had when he smirked at me or when he was reassuring me of something, this was a smile that I had never seen on Nico's face before.

"Thanks." his voice came out soft. He was still smiling at me and looking strangely. Talk about awkward moments.

"No problem." I said just as softly. Then I realized that I still had my hand on his chest! His naked chest at that! I quickly jerked back my hand and looked away. My ears were probably bright pink again! This was the second time that Nico made me blush, but this time was for something much different from undergarments.

Nico must have realized the same thing because he also blushed.

"Yeah . . . umm . . . Well, we uh, better dry off so that we can-" I was already out of the water and fixing up my hair.

"Dry!" I said. It was cool being the daughter of Poseidon. Awesome healing powers and dry clothes when you want them to be. Nico laughed and got out and held up his shirt.

"Can you dry this for me?" he asked walking over to me with that smirky smile that I know.

"Sure." I touched his shirt and immediately the water separated and formed a puddle on the ground.

"How about my pants?" he asked pointing to the soaking pants he was wearing.

"Ok, but you're keeping _those _on." I said. Nico just laughed. I was serious! What's funny about that?

* * *

As soon as we were all dry we walked parallel to the stream north. The whole way we talked about Nico's deceased sister.

"I was so stupid. I let her go on that quest." Nico said sullenly.

"It's not your fault."

"I know. I actually thought it was your brother's fault for a really long time."

"Yeah. You blamed him right?"

"Yes. I never even gave him a chance to explain . . ."

"You told him you hated him and you ran away into the labyrinth." I remembered this so vividly, it felt like I was there. "Your were there with King Minos' ghost. I kept telling you that he would deceive you, but you wouldn't believe me. He just used you and kept telling you lies about me. I finally had to prove to you that I was telling the truth. That's when we found your sister right? You summoned her from the underworld."

Nico scrunched his eyebrows. "Why do you keep saying we, me and I. You weren't even there! And how do you kno- you know what, never mind. I gave up on guessing a while ago." He said shaking his head.

That's when I realized that I had been saying we, me and I. What was I talking about? Whenever I was babbling mindlessly, these memories just came flowing out! How do I stop them? Or even better, how do I find out where they're coming from?

We walked for hours when we noticed footsteps following behind us. We turned around and saw a huge ugly lady . . . Cyclops? Yup, she had one giant eye in the middle of her forehead. She's a Cyclops, alright. Then all of a sudden more cyclopses were coming from behind her. Even more cyclopses came out from behind almost every tree! Nico and I turned to run.

Umph! We ran into something hard. I opened my eyes and saw denim. I slowly looked at Nico and we both looked up. The big daddy Cyclops was glaring down at us.

Before he could grab us we swerved around his legs and dodged the rest of 'em. I tell you though. cyclopses are tall. That can only mean one thing:

Longer legs means faster cyclops.

Nico grabbed onto my wrist and ran. He was really fast himself, even compared to the cyclopses. I was basically pulled the whole way!

"We told you we'd find you, boy." The lady cyclops said. She sounded so close. I looked back for a moment and saw she was right on our tail.

"Come on!" Nico said he pulled me further. We ran into a clearing. No- wait it wasn't a clearing. In the distance we saw buildings everywhere. I strained my eyes and recognized a ship I saw recently. It had just landed and people had piled out of it. There was a large group of people next to it. Much larger than the people I saw on the ship in my dream.

"The Argo II!" I gasped.

"How can you tell?" Nico said still running beside me.

"I saw it in a dream. It was headed to Camp Jupiter also." Then I realized what I just said. "This is Camp Jupiter. Nico!" I whispered to myself. I turned to Nico and called to him as the cyclopses started gaining on us, "We're here."

I could see the magical border. I actually felt it first. It was exactly like the one at Camp Half Blood, but it surrounded a whole city. We were almost there! One of the cyclopses threw a chain at my ankle and it wrapped around me. I fell face flat on the ground. All of the contents in my backpack all fell out. Apparently I left it unzipped.

_Great, just what I need._

Then I saw the curl spray.

'. . . and that curl spray Fabiano used on you. Careful though it's highly flammable . . .' Aphrodite's voice echoed in my mind.

Idea!

_I pray that this works!_ I had no idea which god I prayed to.

I shook my leg and the chain untangled itself. Luckily the cyclopses were very slow mentally. They didn't comprehend that I was on the ground until I got up. I picked up the spray and ran for my life. Nico was up ahead trying to distract them from me by throwing sticks at them. Unfortunately one hit me.

"OW!" I glared at him. He mouthed 'Sorry' with a sympathetic smile. I ran over in the opposite direction of him since the cyclopses were following him.

He looked at me and we locked eyes. Somehow he understood I had a plan. He threw his sticks at the cyclopses and ran toward the camp. I threw the curl spray at the giant and held out my hand.

_Please Hephaestus . . ._ I prayed. To my surprise, fire actually shot out of my hand.

My hand tingled. It didn't feel hot, and it didn't hurt. After I threw the fire-ball I looked at Nico and said

"Run."

We ran and Nico tackled me into the magical boundaries of the Roman camp as a huge explosion fired behind us. He covered me from the ashes as we rolled down the hill together. When we reached the bottom of the hill I saw the entire group of people staring at us. All the guys' mouths hung open and all the girls gave me dirty looks. In the crowd I recognized a few people. Hazel, Frank, Grover, Jason, Thalia, Leo, Piper, Dakota, Octavian, Clarisse, Travis, Conner, Chris, Rachel, Tyson, Ella, and Reyna. Okay, maybe not just a few. How I knew these people, I didn't know! I just recognized them. Weird huh? Sure I recognized a lot of people, but only two stood out to me. A boy with black hair and green eyes, and a girl who had blonde hair with stormy grey eyes. I was both happy and scared.

Nico and I stood up. I took one look at his face and saw it was covered in soot and thought mine was probably too. I looked in the sky and saw smoke everywhere and I shot a glance behind me and witnessed the woods on fire. Everything was silent. No one said anything and no one moved. I wiped the soot off my hands and went over to my brother.

I stuck out my hand and said, "Hi, my name is Claire."

* * *

So . . .? How was it? Did you like it? If you did, I recommend clicking that button down there that starts with and 'R' and ends with an 'eview'. I'd really appreciate it thanks ;)

-Eri

Until next Thursday!


	4. The Other Girl on Fire, Not Katniss

**It's THURSDAY again!**

** Whoot Whoot! I'm excited, are you? Please read/review. Thanks Scarlett Dove for reviewing first! Let's see who will be the second . . . I hope you actually like my story. If you guys notice any grammatical errors please tell me. I'd like to improve my writing as much as possible! I don't think I said this before, but 'Flames' are accepted. I couldn't care less if you don't like my story, but just let me know what you'd like to see in it. Thanks!**

**-Eri :D**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns PJO. Trust me, if I was Rick, the Mark of Athena would be out by now. I'm like literally dying for the book!**

**P.S. I think I may have made this chapter too long. Let me know if you think that I should shorten them. Thanks!**

* * *

Chapter 4

Percy just stared at me until Annabeth nudged him with her elbow. He immediately closed his mouth and shook my hand I held out for him.

"Uh, duh," he stared at me clueless. "I mean, hi I'm Percy. Welcome to Camp Jupiter."

Doesn't Percy realize who I am? Ignoring us, Annabeth walked over to Nico.

"Where have you been? Camp Half Blood has been worried sick about you!"

"I-I, Uhh . . ." He couldn't tell her that he's been searching for his sister this entire time. If they didn't like him looking for her before, they weren't gonna like it now.

"You see," I interrupted. "I washed up on an island unconscious and Nico saved me." I said saving _him_ from Annabeth. I heard a few murmurs in the back of the crowd- 'I wouldn't mind being on an island stranded with_ her._' and 'Wow, she's hot.'

"It took a while for me to wake up." I continued. "He didn't even know I was a demigod until the incident."

"What incident?" Annabeth narrowed her eyes at me. My face dropped right there.

Oops. "Well, umm . . ." I couldn't tell her about the wave crashing down on us. They know Percy as the _only_ child of Poseidon. Then I saw a really tall man weave his way through the crowd. No- not a man, but a centaur.

"Hello, and who do we have here?" He- it said.

"This is Claire." Nico replied. "We need to tell you something, Chiron." _Chiron._

Chiron clopped closer to us. "Yes?"

"Dionysus is locking all the campers in their cabins. He even has the harpies on day duty so they can't leave. He said that now that you aren't at Camp Half Blood, he is fully in charge. We," Nico said gesturing toward me. "Escaped on Blackjack."

"You took my _pegasus?_" Percy pipped up. I forgot. _No one _touches Percy's pegasus.

_I've been winging it since the I was back on the island, there is no sense in stopping now. _So, I wung it. (Wung it? Wingged it? Ah- Scratch it.) "He seemed . . . nice? He looked like he hadn't been out for a while and needed to stretch his . . . wings." I said and nervously smiled at Percy. That bought me a death glare from Annabeth.

"Oh, okay." He said dreamily. _Weird, did he actually just agree with me?  
_

"Anyway- As I was saying. Dionysus told us that you guys took a _flying ship_?" Nico said. "What's that about?"

Leo walked with his so-called 'swag' up to Nico and me. "You mean _my_ flying ship?" Leo said boastfully. "I made it you know." He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

Everyone ignored him. Chiron answered Nico, "Well, It's because the prophecy- Er. We had to fly here because-" The centaur kept stumbling on his words. "Look. We can talk about this later. I should contact Dionysus about his camp directing. Why don't you and Claire wash up."

"We're not _that_ dirty." I joked. Chiron trotted over to me, pulled a twig out of my hair and placed it in my hands.

"Nico, you know where the wash rooms are right? Yes, well please show Claire." Chiron said and trotted away.

Annabeth looked quizzically at Nico. "You know where the washrooms are? Did you know of this camp?"

"What are you talking about?." Frank said stepping into the conversation. "Nico has always been here."

"No." Thalia chimed in. "Annabeth, Percy and I rescued Nico and his sister when they were twelve and brought them back to Camp _Half Blood_."

"Uh, you're wrong." Hazel said. "You _never _rescued _me."_

Thalia placed her hands on her hips. "And _who_ are _you_?" she said with a little too much attitude.

"Nico's sister, a daughter of Pluto, duh!"

"Nico?" Percy's eyes widened.

Nico just stood there tense. "Uh," He grabbed my elbow. "Come on, Claire. I'll show you the washrooms." He quickly pulled me away.

As we headed toward the washrooms I looked back and saw the crowd whispering and glancing over at us.

Nico lead me to the girls shower room.

"These are the only showers in camp. We have bathrooms in the cohorts, but they don't provide showers. So, here's an extra towel." He passed me a towel. "And a Camp Jupiter t-shirt." He passed me a purple t-shirt. "There's soap, shampoo an whatnot in the bathroom already. Oh, and here's an extra toothbrush and tooth paste. Your breath still stinks you know." He smiled at me. He turned to leave.

"Nico?"

"Yeah."

"Did you know about both camps?"

Nico sighed. "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell anybody?" I asked.

"Because Chiron told me not to. I stumbled upon Camp Jupiter two years ago. That was when I was still mad a Percy for letting my sister die. During the quest in the Labyrinth." He took a deep breath. "I knew about the Roman gods. I thought that maybe Pluto could help me bring Bianca back to life somehow, so I fled to New Rome. I was roaming the camp's woods when I spotted a guy in armor. Jason sighted me and brought me back to the camp. I traveled between the two camps for a while and I told Chrion and Lupa of the counter existing camps. They told me to keep hush about them until the prophecy of seven is fulfilled."

"Wow." I blurted.

"Now I have to face the wrath of all of my friends because of a stupid secret."

I nodded. "Don't worry. Oh, and speaking of secrets, when do you think is the right time to tell Percy that I'm . . . you know."

"I suggest that you don't tell him yet."

"Why?" I looked into his dark eyes.

"Don't _you_ think it'd be pretty weird if some stranger came up to you and kept telling you that they're related to you?"

I laughed. "That does sound creepy." I admitted. "Alright. I keep it a secret until we figure what's going on."

"Good." he smiled at me. "Now wash up so we can have lunch soon. I'm starving." He left for the boy's washroom.

* * *

I came out of the washroom feeling the freshest I've felt since, well I can't remember. Literally! I washed my black yoga pants and my sneakers. I didn't even need to wait for them to dry. I just used my powers to guide the dampness off of them. Awesomeness! Well, anyway I put my pants on with the purple Camp Jupiter t-shirt. I brushed my teeth and pulled my hair back into a french braid. I slipped on my newly clean converse sneakers. I stuffed my old shirt into my backpack and went to look for Nico.

I found him talking to a dark skinned girl with curly brown hair and a boy that was very built but had sort of a- how do I put this gently, 'younger' face that didn't match the rest of him. Like a cute chubby little kid's face, but a very built body. Not the best combination.

"Hi guys." I said. Nico stared at me.

"Wow. You look . . . nice." He said. He looked me up and down.

"Thanks . . .?" I didn't really know if that was a complement or not. But like I always say, when in doubt, crack a joke. "I try my best _not_ to look nice, but it just so happens that cleaning yourself makes it impossible."

"Hi, my name is Hazel, Hazel Levesque." The girl barely smiled at me.

"Claire." I shook her hand.

"Claire-?" She was wondering what my last name was.

"Oh, I don't remember my last name." I lied.

"Oh. Okay. Well, this is Frank Zhang. _My _boyfriend." She smiled up at him and clung to his arm. What did she think I was going to do?

"Hey" Frank raised his hand and half smiled.

All of a sudden a scrawny mexican boy popped out of nowhere.

"Hi guys. Oh heeey Claire!" He ran over to my side.

"_Hi_!" I said over enthusiastically. Only Nico knew my sarcasm so he just smirked silently. "_Who are you_?" I said with the same enthusiasm.

"Oh! My name is Leo." I already knew that. I held out my hand to shake, but he took it and kissed it! He looked up at me and wiggled his eyebrows. I just cracked up right there! "So, do you want to sit with me at lunch?" He asked. I was planning to eat with Nico and meet his friends, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to eat with this kid.

"Umm. . ." I looked at Nico. He just shrugged his shoulders. "Sure." I said.

"Great! Let's go catch up to Annabeth and those guys." Poop. I forgot he was with Annabeth, the _last _person I wanted to eat with. She might poison me or something!

He put his arm around me (Which I was _not _comfortable with at all) at pulled me to the dining pavilion.

* * *

**Leo's such a Ladies man!**

* * *

We sat at Percy's table because Annabeth wouldn't have anything else. It turns out it's also Nico's table. Whew! At least he's there. He's the only person I know! Actually I _knew_ everyone there (through Percy's memories). What I meant was, he's the only person who knows _me_.

We went up and got our food. I got some Blue Kool Aid. (It was Dakota's suggestion. He's a Kool Aid addict. It's really unhealthy if you think about it.) A turkey sub and some french fries. When we all got back to the table, I realized Percy got the same foods.

He was too busy to eat though, he was catching up with Annabeth. They started kissing.

_Seriously? I just got my food. They're gonna make me barf._

"Looks like you've got yourself a little _copycat_." Annabeth smirked nodding over to my plate. Percy looked confused, but then he ignored her comment.

"You know, you're the only person I remembered?" He told her. Kiss. Then he put his arm around her waist.

_Oh my gods. Please stop! _I thought.

"Thanks bestie! I'm so glad you thought of me!" Grover imitated a girl's voice. Then he looked like Percy just stomped on his little saytr heart. Grover started concentrating on his mountain of enchiladas and tin cans.

"No, Grover. I thought about you too! When you communicated with me through the empathy link, I couldn't stop thinking about all of you guys."

"What's an empathy link?" Hazel asked. Percy didn't answer he was too busy sucking Annabeth's face. Grover was silently sulking onto his tin cans which resulted in a pitter patter. No one answered her. "Percy? What's an empathy link?" She asked again. He seemed to be in this whole other world with Annabeth. They were a cute couple, but definitely annoying.

Hazel asked again an was getting impatient. I didn't want to hear he incessant question throughout lunch so I answered the question for her. "An empathy link is when you and another person are connected by minds. You can share emotions and thoughts even if you're far away. The bad part about it though is if one of you die, there's a good chance the other will also die because the empathy link is deeply embedded into your brain." I continued to eat. Percy and Annabeth stopped making out and everyone at the Fifth Cohort table stared at me. I looked up from my plate, just as I was about to take a bite of my sub. _Oh great, that's the one thing they actually hear._

"How in Hades did you know that?" Grover asked. They all looked at me for an answer. Nico eyed me. I got the message 'play dumb'.

"You can't just answer a question and be that accurate on your first day. Do _you _ have an empathy link with someone?" Travis asked me. They all turned to look at Nico. It seems like 'playing dumb' wasn't an option.

"No! No, it's not what you think. Okay, I do have _some _knowledge about Greek Mythology. I know a lot of words in the Greek language." I said which was true. I started racking my brain for info on empathy links. Give me a second . . ."_Empatheia _is greek for physical affection, and passion. Basically feelings and emotions." I blurted out.

"Never knew that . . ." Connor said.

"You never know anything." Clarisse said sarcastically.

"Well, let me show you some _empatheia._" Annabeth said and leaned over and kissed Percy on the cheek. The whole table groaned. I think I heard Thalia grumble 'Get a room.'

"But how did you know about the connected death part?" Grover asked. _Crap. I have to think on my toes . . ._

"Well, _empatheia _isn't exactly a root word from Greek. I derives from another word _pathos_ which means passion or suffering. Put the word 'link' in there and 'linked suffering' is your answer." I hoped that satisfied him.

"Psh. Only _some_ Greek. You're like a walking Greek Translator! Blahahaha!" Grover bleated excitedly. I just laughed nervously.

"You know, I bet you Annabeth doesn't even know that much Greek!" Chris added. Annabeth scowled at him. My face dropped. If Annabeth didn't hate my guts before, she definitely does now.

Well I kept wolfing down my food. I was starving! Leo looked at me.

"Wow, I like a girl with and appetite!" He said and smushed even closer to me. I raised an eyebrow and leaned away from him.

_What?_ I thought. I would've said it, but my mouth was full . . . it sounded more like- "Mwhuh?"

"Leo, leave the poor girl alone." Jason said. "She just got here!"

"She agreed to eat with me." Leo reminded Jason. Jason just huffed.

I swallowed my food. "He's right. I wanted to eat lunch with _you_ _guys ._ I wanted to get to know _you all _better." I said with emphasis on the 'you guys' and 'you all' hoping Leo would get the hint.

"Well, I'm Piper." She pulled Leo away from me. "Nice to meet you." She smiled a genuine smile. Piper seemed like the kind of girl who couldn't care less about what others thought of her. Her peers' opinions had no affect in the choices she makes. Her hair was a carmel brown unevenly cut, but in a cute way. She had little braids coming down the sides of her head and she had the prettiest hazel like eyes. Her smile was radiant and her teeth absolutely perfect. I completely zoned out when she was talking until she introduced me to the others. "This is Jason. He used to be a praetor at this camp." She gestured toward the boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. Not a dark ultramarine blue, but a sharp and piercing light blue.

Piper continued. "Jason, Leo and I are all new demigods from the other camp. It's called Camp Half Blood." She looked over at Annabeth and Percy. Thank the gods! They stopped making out. Well she introduced me to them. "Annabeth is also a Camp Half Blood camper. She's been there seven years!" Annabeth blushed at Piper's comment. "And Percy over there" She pointed to the opposite end of the table, "Is praetor here _now_ and was the most successful camper at Camp Half Blood."

"But you are coming back right?" Annabeth asked him. Percy looked at her.

"You know what? I'll talk to you about that later." He whispered to her. I saw Annabeth's face drop into a frown. Then they started a heated whisper argument.

We finished our lunches and Leo turned to me.

"Hey! Why don't I fit you for a sword. You never know what type of games we might play tonight!"

"Sure." I replied.

* * *

**In reality, I don't think I'd ever trust Leo with pointy objects. Ironic, isn't it?**

* * *

Leo talked and talked and talked the whole way to the forges.

Leo tried to fit me with the right sized sword. Every time, it just didn't feel comfortable.

"Too heavy!"

"Too Light."

"Too long." I almost poked someone's eye out on that one.

"This one's like a dagger!"

"Do you like knives?"

"_Nooo_." Using knives made me feel like I had to get really close to the enemy. "Why don't we just make a new one to fit me good?" I suggested.

"Do you know how long that will take?"

"What if I helped you out?"

"Helped me? Please, this is a job for a kid of Hephaestus." Then I thought about Hephaestus' blessing.

"Maybe I'm a child of Hephaestus. I won't know until I get claimed, so why can't I try?"

"Well alright . . ."

He got out celestial bronze and I started working on it. Leo kept telling me 'No no no no! It won't work that way!' but I knew it would fit me well. Soon everyone in the forge came to watch the new girl craft her own sword. I melded on the hilt and then sharpened it on the sides for a clean cut when fighting. I wrapped up the hilt with purple wrap for comfort. It looked cute and dangerous. Yeah, it only took like, three hours.

"Well I guess it did work that way." Leo commended me. I had finally finished. All of a sudden the sword began to glow in my hand. It shined so bright I dropped it and we all looked away. As soon as the light was gone I went to pick it up again and a pen was in its place.

_No way . . ._

I uncapped the pen and out came my sword. Everyone looked amazed. It was different though. There was writing on it that wasn't there before. 'Anaklusmos Duo'.

This is Riptide the second . . . Uh-oh it's Percy's sword. I capped the pen and stuffed it in my pocket.

"How-How did you do that?" Leo asked.

"I didn't." I played innocent.

"You-you just-"

"What are you talking about?" I replied. "Well-I'm-going-to-find-Nico-to-show-him-Thanks!" I ran out of there as fast as I could. I just had to get out of the spotlight.

* * *

**Shut-the-front-door . . . Riptide II?**

* * *

I found Nico with Hazel by the Lake. They seemed to be having a serious conversation. Then I heard my name. So of course I had to stay and listen! I hid behind a tree.

"Just give Claire a chance." I heard him say.

"Didn't you see how Frank looked at her when you guys came rolling in? If I befriend her, it just give me more of a chance that Frank will break up with me. I can't go through something like that again." She looked at Nico. "I finally found a guy I really like and I'm not letting him go."

"Claire doesn't do stuff like that. She's new, can't you just help her out?" He asked.

"Nico, I'd love to, but not everyone is so welcoming to her right now. Only Piper seems to be kind to her."

"Could you please try? I think she needs girl talk, you know?"

"Alright, I'll try." Nico got up.

"I'm going to go look for her, she's probably sick of that Leo kid." He said and left.

I circled around the tree as he was walking my way. Whew! He didn't notice me. But Hazel did.

"Were you there the entire time?" She asked embarrassed that I had listened in on her conversation.

"Not the entire time." I managed to breathe out.

"How much did you hear?" She asked. I sat down next to her.

"Well, for one thing. I would never steal someone's boyfriend." I said. I stared at my reflection in the Tiber.

"I-I, I didn't mean- Of course you wouldn't." Hazel said. She looked ashamed of what she said earlier.

"And what did you mean _the way Frank looked at me_?"

"Oh don't tell me you were that oblivious."

"Oh. The whole mouth open eyes wide thing?" I said. She looked down.

"Yeah."

"I didn't mean for that to happen . . ." I said.

"Of course you didn't. No one can help being that beautiful. I mean they still looked at you that way even you were fully covered in soot and grass." She laughed. "So what's you secret? A daughter of Aphrodite or something?"

"I honestly have no clue . . ."

"Well hopefully your parent will claim you tonight at the campfire."

"I hope so too." I replied Hazel smiled at me.

"I'm sorry for giving you the cold shoulder earlier. I'll try to get the girls to welcome you better."

"Thanks. Though, I think Annabeth will be a tough one." We both laughed.

"Nico told me that Reyna and Percy told him that the game held tonight is one from the Greeks camp. Capture the flag."

"That involves swords right?" I remembered.

"I've never played it, but most games involve swords and lances."

"Well I just went to the forge and got my sword." I took it out to show her. Though I didn't cap it to bring on any suspicions.

"Before the games you should see Percy, he's a really good sword trainer. Come on I'll bring you to the Coliseum." Hazel brought me to this huge arena like at Camp Half Blood.

* * *

Percy was training with Annabeth. It was just like in my dream. Except without the kissing.

_Thank goodness._

The battle was more like Annabeth trying to attack him and Percy dodging.

"Hey Percy! Can you give Claire some tips on sword fighting?" Hazel yelled over the clanging of swords.

My mind raced back to the first time Percy ever had a training class with Luke Castellan. I already knew all the tips Percy had to offer. Even his signature move where he twisted his sword around the opponents and threw their weapon out of their hand.

"Well," Annabeth said. "Percy is really advanced. Why don't you practice with me first. Then Percy can help you." She said with a gleam in her eye.

"Annabeth-" Hazel and Percy started to oppose, but I interrupted them.

"Sure. Give me all you've got." I said. We entered the center of the Coliseum. Percy told us the rules.

"No maiming. No severe injuries. No cussing. And no death." He looked at Annabeth and me for confirmation. We nodded our heads. "Begin!"

I did what Percy was doing before. As Annabeth lunged at me I dodged. It seemed like I was a wimp, but I waited for her to let her guard down and then I would strike. She swung her little dagger at me and I avoided it the best ways possible.

As soon as she stopped for a breath I saw my chance. I knocked the dagger out of her hand and she looked at me astonished. I had just done Percy's move. Well, I didn't waste any time I kicked her down with the heel of my converse. She landed on her back on the ground with my foot on top of her.

"What happened?" I asked. "I told you to give me your all." I said wittily. I held out my hand and helped her up.

"How- how, how did you do that?" She looked at Percy. "Did you show her that move?" She accused him and put her hands on her hips.

"No. Well, we'll see how skilled you really are." He said coming over to me "I'm the best sword fighter at this camp and the other camp." He took a ready stance.

"You know the rules." Hazel said. We nodded.

"Seriously though Percy, don't go easy on me." I whispered.

"You sure?" He asked.

"Positive."

"Begin!" Hazel yelled. She and Annabeth watched us intently on the sidelines as we fought.

This time I attacked. He blocked me. He attacked. I blocked him. He really tried his best, unlike he did with Annabeth.

It was funny. I could predict his next move every time. I took that as an advantage. I could always be one step ahead of him.

He tried yo do his _special_ move. My sword felt loose in my hand. But I counteracted the move and knocked _Percy_'s sword out of his hand. It skidded over to the other side of the Coliseum. Hazel, Annabeth and Percy just stared at me.

"Sorry." I squeaked.

"Sorry? Why are you sorry!" Percy came over to me. "That was amazing!" Hazel and Annabeth came over to us.

"Where did you learn how to fight like that?" They asked me.

"I-I, don't know really." I did know though. I knew Percy's techniques.

"You're definitely on our team for tonight's game." Hazel said.

"No way! She's a Greek. Couldn't you tell from the way she deciphered empathy earlier? She's on Camp Half Blood's team tonight." Annabeth said. "We need all the help we can get."

"Great! Another good player on our team." Percy agreed.

"What are you talking about? You're the praetor of the _Roman_ camp. You're not on the Greeks team anymore." Annabeth said coldly. Apparently she was still mad that Percy's decision on which camp he wanted to stay at.

"Ok." I said. As long as I was on Annabeth's good side, then I was safe.

"Come on." Annabeth said to me. "The game starts in an hour. Let's go get you some armor." We walked out of the Coliseum together.

* * *

**Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer . . . **

* * *

"You're a really good sword fighter." She complemented me as we walked to the Argo II.

"Thanks." I said. I didn't cap my sword. If Annabeth was already suspicious of me, what would she think if I had the same sword as Percy?

We walked to the Argo II. We went below deck, and it was exactly like I had seen in my dream. We went to a room in the back that was filled with all different kinds of weapons and armor. She reached the top shelf and pulled down a helmet with a blue plume at the top. It didn't fit. We kept trying on different sizes.

"So. . ." I said as she got another one. "For some reason, I get the feeling that you don't like me." This helmet fit me.

"Well, I didn't like you to begin with, but you're pretty cool. That is, if you stay away from Percy." She looked at me intently. "I didn't search for him for eight months and sail on a boat for three days with Leo just for Percy to fall for another girl." I stopped her from putting another helmet on me.

"What is it with you and Hazel? You keep thinking I'm trying to take your boyfriends!" I said loudly. The plume on my head wiggled.

"Not just us."

"Why? I just got here, I don't know anybody and I'd never do that! Can you just tell whoever else is judging me like that to give me a chance?"

"Sure." She looked at me. "Friends?" Then she hugged me. For some reason, by the tone of her voice I didn't believe her.

* * *

We found the rest of my armor and headed out into the field just in time for the game to start.

"Now," Reyna said. "The Greeks have suggested that we play a game called Capture the Flag. Somehow," She looked at Percy. "It's improves battle strategy. Anyway, we are using all of New Rome to play this game. The Greeks are Blue and their territory is the area above this line." She pointed to a map. She made a line with her fingers from Caldecott to the Coliseum. Cool we got the northern boarder. Reyna continued. "The Romans are Red and their territory is everything below the line. Here are the rules." Most campers groaned. Apparently they all wanted to kill each other! "No maiming, no killing, no cussing or cursing magically." Octavian groaned at that one. "And the boundaries are the river and the mountains. The objective is to capture the other teams flag that is hidden in their territory and bring it back to your own. Choose your captains!"

Apparently there were more greeks there than I thought there were.

"I think Annabeth should be captain." Jason voted.

"But Jason," Clarisse said. "You're such a good leader."

"But I don't come up with very good battle strategies. That's Annabeth's area of expertise."

"He's right. The Romans are known for their battle strategies. We need someone really good." Thalia chimed in. "All in favor for Annabeth?" We all said Aye!

"Well thanks." Annabeth said bashfully. "Now, Jason, you're going to be our Hawk Eye. You _can_ fly right?"

"Yeah."

"Then you can tell us where the flag is and warn us when you see an ambush."

"Got it."

"Thalia, you and the Stoll brothers will go toward the direction of the cabins and search for the flag there. Clarisse, Chris and I will search toward the river." She instructed.

"What do I do?" I asked strapping on my helmet.

"You, Tyson and Grover will guard the Field of Mars." She told me

"Is that where the flag is going to be?" I asked.

"No, Rachel is going to guard the flag behind the washrooms. We are going to trick them and use you guys as a decoy." She smiled at me.

"But it's a clear wooded forest, won't they see that there is no flag there?" I asked like it was obvious. Which it was.

"I'm hoping not." She shrugged her shoulders.

"But-" I tried to explain to her that the Romans aren't completely stupid.

"Alright to your stations! Then wait for Chiron to blow the trumpet! Go!" She interrupted. We all scattered into our positions.

Chiron sounded the horn.

Grover and I staged ourselves in front of the foliage deprived woods. Tyson plopped down and opened a jar of Jiffy's peanut butter.

"Here we are." I said. "Guarding a field of dead trees." I narrated as we stood there.

"Oh, it's not so bad. Besides, Annabeth always comes up with really good plans. It will all work out." Grover reminded me.

"But this is _really _stupid." I said. We stood there for like forty-five minutes! Actually we stood for fifteen minutes then sat the rest. One time Octavian passed us, snorted and then walked away.

Octavian seemed like the kind of guy who cares who he's hanging with. They must be smart and at least at his 'level'. He strikes me as the sophisticated nerd type. He thinks he's popular, and blackmails others to say that he is popular, but will never accept that he is just another demigod who reads more than Rick Riordan writes. And they're not even exciting books! I could just imagine him in one of his 'coolest hotspots'. The Library of Congress. Not that I don't like libraries, but he's probably be in the section that gives information about the world's oldest stuffed animals and what type of stuffing they used. And he thought that _we _were loners hanging around the Field of Mars. Ha! His circle of friends are the people in the senate of Camp Jupiter.

" 'Annabeth always comes up with really good strategies!' " I mimicked Grover's voice.

"She is smart. Yup." Tyson said licking his peanut butter jar clean.

"It's called sarcasm Tyson." I said. He had a confused look on his face and then wiped it off with the back of his hand. Or did he wipe off peanut butter?

"Hey, I don't know about you, but I like sitting." Grover said chewing on his stash of tin cans.

I sighed. "I want to be out there." I said looking into the distance. So many people passed us snickering and battling, I just wanted to be included in it all. Then I saw something red flicker over by the bridge of the river. The flag! "Grover!" I said pointing. "Look the flag!" He looked to the area I pointed at.

"I don't see it . . ."

"It's right- right there." I jerked his head in the flag's direction.

"Nope . . . I have no idea where you're talking about." He squinted his eyes.

"They hid it really well. Right there by the bridge."

"OHHHHHHH! Yeah, I can't see that far. I really need to get glasses. Juniper's been nagging me to do so." He ignored me and continued eating.

"Tyson! Can't you see it?"

"What?" he asked. He had peanut butter all over his face.

"The flag!"

"What flag?"

"The one our team is looking for!"

"Whose team?"

"Ugh! Well I'm going to check it out." I stood up.

Grover struggled to get up and came after me. "You can't! This is an exercise that teaches you to listen to the _leader_." He said. "Meaning Annabeth."

"But isn't battling also about going with your gut and intuitions?"

"Well . . ."

"I'm going." I picked up my sword and stomped away.

"Annabeth will be so mad! Don't say I didn't warn you!" He called after me.

"Oh, well. She'll have to deal with it." I grumbled to myself.

As I approached the bridge I could tell that this was obviously the flags hiding spot. It flapped around the edges of the stone bridge giving away it's cover. When I was about twelve feet away, Percy jumped out from behind the bridge armed and ready to fight.

"Oh, Zeus. I have to fight _you_? I thought I'd get someone a little easier." He said and smiled at me.

"_Me?_ You're the one who defeated Kronos." I caught myself. "So I hear . . ."

"Yeah, but _you _beat me." We armed ourselves.

Our swords clanged against each other. I blocked him up then he tried for my middle. I cut him off with the hilt of my sword. I went for his ankle and he jumped. I pressed further on him making him back into the river.

_Oh Athena! Why give me wisdom when it's too late?_

I realized what I just did. I pushed a powerful child of _Poseidon_ into a _river_. Smart. Percy smiled.

"Forget something?" He mocked.

Water attached to him like a magnet. He was lifted into the sky and water sprayed all around. He was standing on top of a giant wall of water. Water rushed around his ankles and he was slowly moving toward me. I secretly tried to use my powers and counteract his intentions. My body tensed up and I closed my eyes and concentrated. The water was dying down back into the river. I opened my eyes and saw Percy getting frustrated. He must have realized that my counteract made the water's current go against him. He decided to throw the water at me and fight me on the ground.

Water got everywhere, but I was dry. He looked confused. "What-"

"Missed me!" I teased.

We battled again. It was so intense that sweat began to trickle off our faces. In one move I didn't pay attention to my footing and I slipped on the muddy ground. Percy looked at me sympathetically. But before he could go anywhere, I kicked Riptide out of his hand from below and it went all the way into the river.

"Ha ha!" I smirked I got up and was about to kick him to the ground when I heard-

"CUH-LAIRE!" Annabeth yelled in rage. I turned around to see a blonde girl with a red face.

"Annabeth," I said. "My name has only one syllable."

She fumed. "I'm supposed to fight Percy! _You're _supposed to be guarding the Field of Mars!" She pointed to an empty spot next to Grover. He waved at us.

"It's been, like, an hour now and no one's even tried to battle us." I argued.

"That was the _point!_" She exclaimed then realized what she had just said.

I stuck my hands on my hips. "What?"

Her face turned red. "Never mind! You should listen to orders even-" She was interrupted by a loud yelling. The Romans had captured our flag. Percy whispered a little 'Yes!'. "See what you did!" Annabeth pointed at me. "If you had stayed in your spot we might have won!"

"Whoa, Annabeth," Percy tried to calm her. "It's her first day."

"Whatever." She mumbled. Soon everyone started crowding around us.

"I just wanted to show everyone what I could do . . ." I said softly twisting my hair around my finger. _Play the innocent look._

"What you can do? Listen, you're new here. You may be pretty, but appearances aren't everything. Smarts and strength are superior over beauty here." She mocked. That got frown from the Venus children and Piper.

Percy spoke for me. "Oh, come on. You saw what she could do in the Coliseum."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "That was luck." Annabeth guessed.

I've had it with her! Even after one freakin' day, I've had it. Her glaring at me and mocking me. Thinking all I care about is how I look. Invading my dreams! Pretending to be friends with me. She's the one kissing _my_ brother! I couldn't hold it in anymore.

"You know what Annabeth _Chase_?" I began. "I wouldn't judge so quickly if I were you."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Because you don't know me. You don't know me at all!" I paused. "But I know so much about you." Her eyebrows rose in doubt. I led on walking closer to her. "I know how you ran away from home when you were seven. All because you step-mom didn't treat you the best. How you met up with Thalia Grace," Thalia stiffed when I said her last name. "and Luke Castellan." Thalia and Annabeth gasped. "Oh yeah. I know that he promised you that you'd be a family. He would never let you down. But he did." I went on babbling about something I didn't even know I remembered. Annabeth glared at me. "Luke betrayed all of you guys. I even know that he took on the full presence of Kronos himself!" The kids from the Roman camp gasped.

"Alright! That's enough!" Percy commanded me. Annabeth's face was swimming with all different kinds of emotions.

"Oh, I'm not done yet." I snapped back at him. I couldn't just stop now, I was on a roll. My rage just took over. "I know all about you and you and you-" I said pointing to Hazel, Frank, Jason, Piper, Leo and everyone else I could see. "Yeah, I even know some of your deepest secrets." I said. I realized that what I said might have come out wrong. Telling someone you just met that you know some of their secrets doesn't help you make friends. But the words were already out there. "But I won't exploit them." I said hoping they wouldn't fear me.

"How do we _know_ you won't?" Annabeth challenged me.

"_How do you know I- _You don't know me at ALL!" I yelled in her face. I was furious. Then she said something you wouldn't expect after screaming like that.

"Y-your, your hair!" She shrieked. I realized everyone was staring at my hair.

"My hair?" I looked up and saw flames. My hair was on fire. A total mood killer.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed running in circles flailing my arms about. "GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"

Percy caused a wave to crash down on top of me. The water doused the flames and my body stayed wet this time. I shivered and was on the verge of crying. I sniffed.

"Now, if you'll excuse me." I said the crowd parted and made a way for me to walk through. I didn't make eye contact with anyone keeping my eyes straight ahead and my head held high. I passed Nico.

"Claire-" I ignored him and walked away.

* * *

**Within about ten minutes, Claire goes from being dry to bursting spontaneously into flames and then to soaking wet when she can dry herself with ocean powers. Throw logic out the window.**

* * *

I sat in the side cranny of the Coliseum that was hidden unless you walked into the center of the arena. I sat there with Mrs. O'Leary on my lap. She's Percy's pet hellhound and was trained by Daedalus himself. A hellhound is a pretty masive animal. She could probably be the size of a pony. But she's not something kids ask for their birthdays. She has a dark black coat (That never has been cleaned, mind you) she has beady black eyes and she can shadow travel like Nico because hellhounds are creatures of the Underworld. And though Mrs. O'Leary's appearance can be quite the picture, her loving heart comes out when she trots over to you and nuzzles her head up against your's. She whimpered as I spoke to her.

"No one will trust me now." She nuzzled my leg. "I should've never told them I knew their secrets. And the fact that my hair caught on fire makes this day even worse." I rubbed her back. Suddenly another voice caught the hellhound's attention.

"You okay? I see you've found Mrs. O'Leary." Percy's green eyes peeked around the corner. I ignored him and looked away.

"I'm sorry about Annabeth. She can get jealous sometimes."

"Really?" I replied sardonically. He just laughed and sat next to me. "How did you find me?" I said concentrating on Mrs. O'Leary's sleek coat.

"I arrived here this summer and when I got frustrated or upset I came here." He replied as he sat down next to me. "It's a great place to collect your thoughts."

"Look, I'm sorry for what happened back there-" I began.

"Yeah. That was pretty freaky." He agreed.

"I didn't mean for my hair to . . . to catch on fire."

"No, not that. How you knew so much about Annabeth. But the hair thing was also pretty strange."

"Honestly, I know more about you."

"Really?" His eyebrows shot up.

"Yeah," I twirled my black hair around my index finger. "Since the day you were kicked out of Yancy Academy to the time you went into the Styx. The hamster incident at Circe's Island. Even the time when you watched Luke and Kronos die together."

"H-how, how-" he couldn't find the right words to use.

"Ok, I've heard this too many times. From you, Annabeth, Nico, Leo. So I'm going to say this once: I don't know how I do certain things. I really don't!"

Percy smiled at me. "Ok. I'm sorry. You're right. You're new to all of this. I give you credit for standing up to Annabeth though. She can be intimidating."

"No kidding. She kept accusing me of trying to 'steal' you from her! No offense, you're just not my type." I said. It was funny, he was exactly me in boy form but, I could never date him. Even if he wasn't my brother.

"None taken." He smiled at me. "Come on. Let's go to the campfire."

I breathed a light laugh. "With everyone who witnessed what happened today? No thanks!"

"Look. I admit they're a little freaked that you know so much about them, but they really like you."

I frowned, but I could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't going anywhere until I agreed to go to the campfire. "Okay . . ." I said unsure of him. He offered his hand pulled me up. Mrs. O'Leary followed me.

* * *

We walked to the campfire. It was really dark out, probably eight or nine o'clock and everyones' faces looked mean and spooky from the glow of the campfire. They looked up and saw me. I averted my eyes and shyly made my way over to Nico. I tucked my hair behind my ear and whispered to him.

"Sorry for blowing up earlier . . . I-I just . . ."

"Don't worry." He whispered back. "You remember how I had a major blow up a few years back. Now that was embarrassing." He said and softly chuckled.

He put his arm around me and rubbed my shoulder in that comforting way that he always did. He always knew what to do when I was upset.

We sang songs like 'Hades had a big hellhound'.

_(To the tune of 'Mary had a little lamb')_

_Hades had a big hellhound_

_Big hellhound_

_Big hellhound_

_Hades had a big hellhound_

_And named him Cerberus._

'Juno, Hera, do you have advice?' It was a Percy and Jason solo.

_(To the tune Ba Ba Black Sheep or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)_

_Juno, Hera,_

_Do you have advice?_

_I have lost my memory._

_This much won't suffice._

_You took it from me_

_With your strange ways_

_I couldn't re-mem-ber anything for days_

_Juno, Hera_

_Here is some advice._

_Watch your back_

_Not once but twice._

Clarisse wanted to sing 'Pulverize a Nerd'. "There's even hand motions to it!" She said.

Dakota suggested that we sing 'Ninety-Nine Bottles of Kool Aid on the Wall.' The whole camp chorused 'No!'.

Just as I was starting to have some fun I heard a voice in my mind.

_The time is now my daughter. Remember . . ._

All of a sudden random memories came flashing into my mind. Tyson's watch. Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Annabeth. The Golden Fleece. May Castellan. Hestia. Smelly Gabe. A Sand dollar. Jumping into the Styx. Wanted posters of Percy. Frank's grandmother. Circe's island. Nancy Bobfit. Pandora's box. Blackjack. Quintus/Daedalus. Fighting Ares. Octavian. Oracle of Delphi. Bianca di Angelo.

So many pictures came into my mind at once my head started to hurt. My vision blurred and I doubled over. I held my head tight in my hands. Nico looked at me really worried.

"Claire? Claire! Are you alright?" That caught everyone's attention.

A voice rang in my mind.

'Yes, when I claim you, your memory will immediately return to you.' _Poseidon_. I realized.

_I know who I am! I'm Claire Jackson. A creation of Hephaestus. I am an adopted daughter of Hephaestus and Aphrodite. I was created to die in my brother's place. I was created to die in Percy's place! Oh my gosh. My dad is going to claim me. This is definitely not the right place or the right time!_

"Hey look!" Someone said. I think it was Leo. "Claire's being claimed!" He was right. A block materialized above my head. I got up and started to leave.

"Excuse me. I have to go. Umph!" I bumped right into Chiron.

He looked down at me with a disapprovingly.

"Or not . . ." I said heading back to the group. Above my head appeared a green mist with a glowing trident. Most of the campers were amazed. Leo cheered. I heard some whispers in the crowd.

"-thought she would be a child of Hephaestus-"

"-what about the fire hair-"

"-her hotness-"

Percy had a mix of confused emotions.

I knew what was to happen next. Hephaestus and Aphrodite would claim me also. I tried covering the picture on top of my head and my hand just swiped through it as if it were a hologram. Nothing worked. I gave up and sat down with my head in me lap.

"Being a child of Poseidon's not that bad." Percy said coming over to comfort me.

"Just wait . . ." I responded. As soon as I said it the colors began to change to a pink mist with a dove. Everyone looked confused, then astonished, then disbelieving.

"Venus." Octavian breathed. "Are you a child of . . . t-two g-gods? A godling?" Octavian asked the bowed down at my feet. That was the only thing I enjoyed of the whole claiming experience.

"Not exactly . . ." I replied. Then the picture changed yet again, to a smokey grey mist with a flaming hammer. I hear Leo sigh really loud in disappointment.

_'That's not all. Keep waiting.'_ Poseidon said.

That's not all? What else could there be? Last but not least the picture changed into a blue mist with a name written in white. 'Perseus Jackson'. Oh boy! Everyone looked at Percy. He stared above my head wide eyed.

Percy was speechless. I literally thought that he was going to pass out.

* * *

**Craziness! I had fun writing this chapter. I'm sorry for those of you who don't like my bitchy Annabeth, but you saw how she reacted to Rachel Dare in Rick Riordan's books, so wouldn't she have a greater dislike to an attractive daughter of Aphrodite? I'm pretty sure there would've been some catfight if Percy was at Camp Half Blood when Piper arrived. **

**Tell me what you think. Enjoyed it? Hated it? Think I should change where the story is going? Tell me your predictions in your reviews. :D**

**-Eri**


	5. My Father Shows Up

**I am so glad there aren't eight days in the week. I think I almost died not putting this chapter up! **

**I have my second review! *Happy dance* confusion-123! Yay. You made my day last week. :)**

**So apparently there is an M rated story out there called Claire Jackson. HarryJedusorPotterBlack wrote it. I totally did not steal this idea, because it was written in Portuguese. **

**I cannot read Portuguese. Pretty ironic though, right?**

**This chapter is about the same length as the last one, so, yeah. You got some scrollin' to do. Many surprises happen in chapter 5. Tell me if it's what you predicted, and if it's not, tell me what you would have had Claire say! I'd love hearing your ideas. **

**-Eri ;)**

**I AM RICK RIORDAN! Pft... I wish. That man's got TALENT! (Seriously though, Disclaimer: I own nothing but the computer I type on.)**

* * *

Chapter 5

All was quiet for the first five minutes. Percy started pacing and talking to himself. "I can explain-" I started.

"Well?" Percy snapped. That's when he looked at me. I saw hurt in his eyes. Sadness. Confusion. "Explain yourself!"

"Alright-"

"Did you know about this?" He continued while pacing back and forth.

"Well-"

"Is this a joke or something? Because _I_ did _not_ know about this."

"No I-"

"What in Hades are you?"

"WILL YOU LET ME EXPLAIN?" I all but shouted.

He dragged his hand through his hair and huffed. "Sorry . . ."

"Thank you! Anyway," I turned to the entire audience. "My name is Claire Jackson." People in the crowd gasped at my last name.

"I thought you didn't remember your last name!" Hazel yelled to me.

"I didn't. Until Poseidon claimed me, I had a bunch of random memories in my mind that I couldn't make sense of. Now all of them make sense. I finally understand and I _can_ explain. Now, do you want to hear from the beginning or not?"

"YES!" The camps said in unison.

"Then please hold all interruptions until the end. Thank you." My voice wavered from nervousness, so I looked into the audience for a friendly face, but no one was smiling. "Now, My name is Claire Jackson and I am not really human . . ."

"Not human?" Octavian blurted. Everyone glared at him.

"Seriously? I just said no interruptions!" I glared at the tall lanky boy. "That would be correct. I am a _creation_ of Hephaestus. I am almost human, Poseidon told me that I just lack one essential thing . . ." I thought about it and when Percy's memories came to me, my feelings felt nothing compared to his. "I don't have a soul . . ." I finally realized that empty feeling. "Well as I was saying. Hephaestus loved me. He created me and cared for me. So he _blessed_ me." I looked to Nico whose eyes bulged out of his head. If this weren't a serious conversation I would have busted out in a laughing fit. "That means he has adopted me into his godly family which is why I could catch my head on fire. And," I looked at Leo. "Make my sword. Hephaestus modeled me after Sally Jackson and Aphrodite. That's why _Aphrodite_ blessed me."

"Why were you created?" Frank asked. I guess the 'no interruptions' thing wasn't working.

"I'm getting to that. So basically I woke up in Hephaestus' mansion and he told me all of this. He brought me to Poseidon's palace for him to explain the rest. Apparently," I looked for Rachel. "The Oracle of Delphi sleepwalked all the way up to Olympus." The Greek demigods turned to see Rachel. She just shrugged her shoulders. "And she told them a part of the Prophecy of seven only for godly ears. Poseidon wouldn't tell me all of it but this was one part-

'_To save the Olympus- an attempt goes awry:_

_The child of Poseidon in the end must die.' "_

Everything got really quiet. So quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

"You see, Poseidon has big plans for you Percy." I told my brother. "He can't just let you die . . ."

"So . . . so you were- you were made to . . ." Percy couldn't get the words out.

I looked to Nico. He had a worried expression on his face.

"Now to answer your question Frank, I was created to die in my brother's place." I said proudly. I mean, as proudly as I could anyway.

"Percy's my brother too!" Tyson yelled. _Okaaaaay_ . . . That was random.

"Poseidon didn't want me acting all insane like, so he erased my memories and threw me ashore where Nico found me. Since then I-"

"Why was Percy's name there when you were claimed?" Annabeth asked genuinely concerned.

"I was _also _getting to that. Now, back in Poseidon's palace, my father told me why I was created and all that jazz. But so he could raise the chances of saving Percy's life he gave me Percy's memories."

"HE WHAT?" Percy said. "My memories? Like my private thoughts?"

I smiled halfheartedly. "That's how I knew about Annabeth, Thalia, and Luke. I remember everything you've ever done." I answered.

"Again I say. WHAT?" He yelled. "You know my life story? I feel so . . . violated. That's just plain creepy."

"I know. It's creepy for me too. I my mind thinks I have done everything that you did, but in reality I haven't accomplished a single thing." This was a hard concept to explain. Especially hard to explain to Percy. "To tell you the truth, I knew everyone here before they introduced themselves. I didn't even know how I knew! Now, I don't know about you, but to me that spells 'CREEPY' all over it!"

Percy stopped pacing. I searched his eyes for sympathy only to find a frown. He was about to say something, but started to walk away instead.

I called after my brother. "Where are you going?"

"I don't think I can handle this . . . I-I need to think." He kept walking.

_I cannot believe this is happening. Percy can't handle this? I knew Percy had some ambivalent feelings when he found out Tyson was his brother, but hey, I'm no Cyclops. _"What are _you_ saying? All of this has been thrown at me in the past two weeks." I yelled to his turned back. "And a half! You've had FIVE YEARS OF THIS STUFF!"

All of a sudden Poseidon appeared right in front of Percy, blocking his way. The camps stared in awe.

Percy backed up in shock. "Dad!"

"Hello, Perseus." Poseidon said in his deep smooth voice.

Percy was surprised. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Well, I had a feeling that someone would give Claire a hard time. It's truly a hard situation to explain. Although, I didn't expect you to be the one to be so . . . how you say 'ticked off'."

"Dad, I'm not 'ticked of'. It's just- You gave some stranger something that belongs to me, only me. My memories are my private thoughts. You don't just go out and give them to another . . . thing!"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" I piped up.

"Percy, Claire is a _demigod. _And more than that, she is your sister whether you like it or not." Poseidon said.

Percy's face seemed to turn red. "You gave her a part of my life, my personality-"

"Perseus." That shut Percy's mouth quickly.

"Dad-" Percy tried to say, but he couldn't finish. He was at a loss of words.

"Son, you are my pride and joy." My heart fell at those words. "I did not do this because I didn't think you were not strong enough, I did this because there are greater things for you to come." Poseidon said. Percy contemplated what our dad just said, but didn't make eye contact with anyone. Poseidon turned around and walked toward me. "And you my daughter. I love you also. Though, you do know your duty." He looked at me intently with his soft eyes. I nodded in response. "Now, come with me. I would like to speak with you in private." He told me. I followed him through the crowd.

* * *

Once we were out by the Tiber he started talking to me.

"I know this must be hard for you."

"Psh, 'hard' only describes half of this mess." I mumbled. Poseidon sighed.

"I'm sorry." He said. Wow, it takes a lot for a god to say sorry. "You are really a wonderful daughter. Thank you for taking this so easily. I know Percy isn't doing as well as you are right now, but he'll warm up to you soon." My heart swelled. My dad, god of the sea, is proud of me.

"Well, gee. Thanks." I know. A stupid reply from me again, but hey, talking to a god can be nerve wrecking. Poseidon laughed. He rubbed my arm like Nico does and kissed me on the forehead.

"I want to give you something." He said. "To help you in your 'mission' to protect your brother, should I call it 'mission', I am granting you any wish. Anything you want and it shall be yours. Well, that which is in my power and doesn't effect the prophecy of seven."

"Whoa, anything?"

"Anything." He smiled at me.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

I thought for a moment.

_What do I want? To make some friends? That's a good one. To have the Fates dead? That's a GREAT one! But no . . . What is it that I _really_ want? I know._

I whispered into my father's ear and told him my wish. He nodded his head in confirmation that he could grant it.

"It will make your mission a lot harder."

"I know, but it's worth it."

"Alright." Poseidon sighed and held out his hand. A golden wisp of life circled in his palm. He looked at me one last time. 'Are you sure?' His eyes said. I nodded. He blew the golden wisp into me and I breathed it in.

I felt alive. Not new and refreshed but exhausted and lethargic. Not what I thought it would feel like getting my own soul.

* * *

_Yes, I Claire Jackson now have my own soul. I can feel all of the different emotions. Love, hate, sadness, fearfulness, excitement, anxiety, confusion, anger, and happiness._ But why I was so tired made me confused.

Why did I ask for a soul? Well, I admit. I was jealous of Percy's memories. How they were filled with laughter, tears, love, and emotions.

"Why am I so tired? I feel weak?" I asked the god.

"Even though your mind is filled with an astounding amount of information and your body is the form of a teenager, you body in reality is only a few weeks old. Your muscles are still adapting to the new feeling. Having a soul makes you able to recognize that feeling." He explained. "I told you it would make everything harder on you."

"You're right, you warned me. But like I said. It's truly worth it." I smiled I never felt so happy in my entire life! Well, I actually haven't felt happy before.

"Well, now. I believe that Percy will be easier to work with . . . But if he gives you any trouble, just um. . . 'holla' and I'll be there."

I rolled my eyes. "Holler, dad? Really?"

"Hey! When you're a god you got to stay with the latest lingo. I know some pretty far out words." Poseidon said trying to act his definition of 'cool'. You know, the 'gansta' look with the arms crossed and the pursed lips. I just rolled my eyes, again.

"Far out?"

"Yeah!" He looked at me quizzically. "Oh sea foam . . . I guess that one's a couple years off also, huh?"

"Yeah, just a couple." I giggled.

"Well, I better be off now." Poseidon started to head into the water. I stopped him.

"Hey dad?" He looked at me. "Um . . . can I ask you for advice?" He searched my eyes for something. His face went white when he saw the desperation on my face.

"Oh, um . . . you know what? I have to go, but Chiron has all the stuff you need. The um . . ." He was acting really nervous. "He- he even has a book on women's hormones and . . . their monthly friend . . ."

"Wha-? Oh gods no! NO! Not that! I wasn't going to ask you about _that_!"

"OH!" His face turned beet red. "W-what was it you were going to ask me?"

"What's your advice on making friends?"

"Well, I believe Aphrodite helped you on that one."

"Yeah, but I completely chopped up my first impression with them." I said my face sullen.

"If you stay true to yourself, they will learn to like the real you." He winked at me and left.

I stared at the rippling water where Poseidon vanished. Then I decided to go back to the group.

* * *

I heard people talking with one another.

"-She's got three godly parents!"

"-Ohmigosh, she's so powerful."

"-Should we be scared?"

"-What about this new prophecy?"

"-Yeah, Octavian? How come you didn't know about this?"

"-STUFFING CAN ONLY SAY SO MUCH!"

Then I heard Rachel trying to hold in her laugh. "You use (Chuckle, chuckle) stuffing?" Then she burst out with a loud snort.

Then they noticed that I was in their presence and stopped.

"Hi." I said. I bit my lip. I was like 'almost about to pee myself' nervous.

"Hey." Nico said. "Everything okay with your dad?"

"Yup."

"You sure? You look . . . um, really wiped out." He said using his words carefully. I probably had bags under my eyes or something.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just tired is all." I replied. I rubbed my eyes hoping it wasn't so noticeable.

"Well now that that's all settled. Why don't we hit the hay." Chiron said.

"Yes campers. Please return with you cohort members to your beds. We need no other excitement for today . . ." Reyna said. Everyone started heading to their cohorts. The Greek demigods headed to the Argo II. They were all groaning in the process. I walked and weaved my way through everyone, as they were heading in different directions, to look for Reyna.

"Hey Reyna? Where should I stay for tonight?" I asked.

"Hmm. Well, you are a Greek so you could stay in the Arg-"

"NO! Please no!" Reyna looked shocked and confused. "They _hate _me there, and there is no way I can sleep with that Leo kid there. And I'm pretty sure that Annabeth girl has a knife collection with my name on it." I begged.

"Well you could stay with Percy in the Fifth Cohort. He is your brother after all." Sure he was my brother, but we have no relationship. He probably couldn't care less about me.

Something gave me the courage to ask: "Could I stay with Nico?" I bit my lip in desperation. "He's is the only person I trust." She looked at me. She knew I wasn't going to give in to staying with anyone else.

"Alright." She finally said. I sighed in relief. She showed me to where Nico stayed. Then she turned to leave. "Oh and by the way, Percy's cabin _is _Nico's" She breathed a laugh and walked off to her own private praetors house. Well, I feel stupid . . . Oh well. I pushed the door open and walked in.

"Hi guys." I said timidly.

"Hey." Hazel smiled at me. Actually they all smiled at me, except Percy.

I could sense tension in the room. _There is no way you're going to make friends unless you stay true to yourself. Just speak what's on your mind. _I told myself. "Are you guys mad at me?"

"Mad at you?" Frank asked. "Why would we be mad at you?"

"Because, I'm a freak, even for a demigod, who knows all of your . . ." I left my sentence hanging_. I shouldn't remind them about their secrets._ I thought. Percy snorted.

"Look, we're not mad at you. You're Percy's sister, you'd never do anything wrong." Hazel said. She hugged me and brought me to an empty bed next to her own. I smiled at her. I changed into the Camp Jupiter pajamas that the camp had provided for me.

"Besides," Dakota said. "We're all freaks here." He said it like he was proud.

Percy kept shooting glares at me. When Dakota noticed the tension between Percy and me he said. "Alright five minutes 'till lights out." I guess he decided we'd be better off tomorrow.

"Five minutes?" Percy exclaimed. "You, of _all_ people _never_ call lights out . . . _early!" _

Dakota got out an extra blanket for everyone. "Hey," He said. "We're all tired. I'm the leader of this cohort and I call lights out."

"Well . . . w-well, er, I'm a praetor!" Percy said. "I say lights out in- in . . . an hour! Yeah!"

"_Weeeell, _I'm the leader of _this_ cohort! You chose to be here." He tossed a blanket to Percy.

Percy smirked. "But I have a higher ranking than you!"

"_But_ this is my territory. Zeus can't just go swimming at the beach can he? He may be the king of the gods, but ocean's Poseidon's territory. Just like the fifth cohort is _mine!_" Percy's eyes flamed at Dakota's response.

"Percy calm down." Nico said.

"Why are you fighting over lights out?" I asked.

Percy whirled around to answer me. "It's not that! It's you! Him! And everyone else!" He yelled at me. "I can't even control my own life!" I saw an emotion in my brother's eyes that I hadn't seen him carry before. His lips twitched in frustration and he stormed out of the cabin.

I went after him, but Nico stopped me.

"Sometimes it's better if you just let him cool down. He'll be fine." He said.

And that was it for the night. Once my head touched my pillow, I was out like a light. It was so nice to sleep in a bed for once. But no matter where you are, when you're a demigod, dreams can always find you.

* * *

Okay, so my dream started out like this.

I was in front of an apartment complex. It was my home! No, I mean Percy's home. No, it's my home too, no matter what my brother says. We were in West Upper Town, New York City. Yes I said we. There was a woman next to me. Taller than the average, and had very distinct features. I didn't notice her until I stopped looking at my home.

_Only a few strides and an elevator ride from mom!_ I thought.

I turned to look at the woman. She seemed to be looking at my home also. She noticed me studying her.

'It's not polite to stare dear.' She said. I quickly looked away. 'Claire, is it?' She asked.

'Y-yes.' I answered.

'You are one of the only heroes that isn't one of my children.'

'Excuse me?' I asked.

_What in Hades? This lady is a loon! _I thought.

'I'm the earth goddess.' She replied. Then I realized that her entire attire was brown. Funny.

_Oh great! Is every dream going to be about this Greek life I lead?_

'Gaea?' I questioned.

'Of course Gaea! Some call me Mother Nature. I'm mother of all! Except you.' She replied. 'But no matter, I will still find a way to distract- I mean help you.'

I narrowed my eyes at the woman. 'Help me? What for?' Gaea just rolled her eyes.

'Right now, you stay in a camp that has both Greeks and Romans yes?'

'Yes, what does that have to-'

'Romans and Greeks were apart for a reason. They can't work together, dear.'

This confused me. Sure I knew everyone at camp, but I don't know why we were all there. Dionysus told Nico and me that the Greeks went to Camp Jupiter because of a 'special' quest . . . What could that be?

'Why are the two demigod groups together?' I asked her. She laughed.

'Because of me! You see, like every president and king, someday people in authority has to give up their positions, right?'

'Right . . .'

'It's just the way the world works. Now, what would happen of someone stayed in power longer than they should've?'

'I-I don't know? Will the people try and over throw him?'

'Yes! Exactly. What if I told you that the gods have stayed in control too long? It's basically the same situation.'

'Well not reall-'

'It is.' She cut me off. 'The gods have had their time to shine. And if you ask me, I think they've messed up too many times to count! Now I'm doing the sensible thing by trying to take them down from their thrones. Just like you suggested.'

'I didn't suggest that.'

'Hmph, it sounded like it. Well like I said, I have taken on the duty myself to over power them. But unfortunately the gods have put you demigods together to stop me from waking.'

I furrowed my brows. 'What-huh?'

'Waking, yes. I have not fully risen from my slumber. I can make my self whole in dreams and even in person.' She said gesturing to her tall body length. 'But this is not my _whole_ form.'

'Oh.' Geez, some things are too complicated to even try to understand. 'So because you're trying to take the gods out of power, the gods are using us to stop you?'

'Yes dear, isn't it sad? The gods want their children to sacrifice themselves so they can keep messing up this earth with their powers. Selfish I know.'

'They're using us?' I knew I was being used to save Percy's life, but everyone else was too? Just so they can keep their thrones?

'Yes dear. But if you join forces with me,' She said with a sly smile. 'We can finally finish the job. You are the most powerful demigod out there. And I can be a pretty good mentor.' She winked. 'Come on now, let's go see you mother.' She said.

I stepped onto the elevator and we pushed the button to my floor. It was the same as it has always been. I found my room. I knocked and a beautiful woman answered the door. Maybe even prettier than Aphrodite. _(You better swear on the River Styx that you won't ever let this little snip-it right here get into the goddess' hands! If it does . . . gulp . . . I'm dead.)_

_Mom! _

I almost cried. Having never seen your mom and going through all of these changes, you just miss that certain feeling of comfort only she can give you. Plus having the feelings of a girl makes this a whole lot gushier and mushier. I just wanted to hug her so tight and have her stoke my hair telling me that everything will be okay. Hearing her say those words would make sure that everything _would_ be okay.

_Is this real? _I thought.

_Of course it's not. Your mother in real life doesn't even know you exist. But here in your dream, you can make it be what ever you want it to be. Although, she can only see you not me. _ Gaea's raspy voice said in my mind.

'Dear child.' My mother hugged me. A tear rolled down her cheek as she came over to me. She rubbed my back and stroked my hair.

'Mom.' Was all I could choke out. I nestled my head into her chest as we cried.

_ How touching. You can have this relationship in real life with my help._

After all of the water works were over we went in and had a fresh batch of her famous blue chocolate chip cookies. Gaea just sat on the end of the arm of the couch looking intently as if she were part of the conversation. We sat and talked about my adventures and how Percy was okay. She and Paul Blofis (my stepdad) were worried sick about him for the past nine months. We talked and talked. I wished that it would stay like this forever, but all dreams must come to an end, or at least the good ones.

Suddenly Percy burst into the apartment.

'That. Is. _My_. Mom.' He said through his teeth. His eyes were fierce as he attacked me. What is with these traumatizing nightmares?

His mouth foamed like a rabid raccoon. He threw pillows the cookies and what ever else he could find, at me. Mom tried to stop him, but he just pushed her away. When he caught up to me he wrapped his hands around my throat and started laughing. He squeezed as tight as possible.

I saw a bright light . . .

Really I did. Gaea transported us out of there.

'You see how easy the gods can manipulate you demigods?'

'Yes, I've never seen Percy like that. He'd never do something like that.'

'Mmm. Well, you saw it yourself . . . You know. Aw, never mind.'

'What?'

'Well, I was going to ask if you'd help me.' She replied.

'Help you what? Over throw Olympus?'

'Not 'over throw', but _renew._'

'I-I . . .'

_This offer is too much for me. How can I say yes? How can I say no . . ._

'I have to think about it. I mean seriously. I don't know if you've been like stalking me or something, but I just came to life like two weeks ago. Yeah, and my brain is having a hard time processing all of this so . . . I'll get back to you.' I said nervously and started walking backwards and away from this power hungry woman.

'Alright, but here's my card. I'm very hard to iris message being that I'm in a million places at once. If you toss this card in with your drachma you will be able to reach the present me.' She tossed me her card and vanished. I stuck the card in my pocket and stared at the spot were the goddess vanished.

* * *

I gasped for air as I sat up in my bed at the fifth cohort. I turns out I wrapped my self into a cocoon in my sleep. My breathing settled and I calmed down. I untangled myself and looked around. I felt my pocket and I pulled out a brown business card.

**_Mother Gaea_**

**_Earth Goddess_**

**_IM me!_**

I slipped it into pocket as fast as possible.

Everyone else was still sleeping. Nico slept with his butt in the air and face embedded into his pillow. Hazel slept wrapped tight into a little ball in the corner of her bed. Frank slept like a corpse, you know fully laid out with his hands folded on his lap. Dakota was sleeping perpendicular to his bed so that his legs and head were completely off it. Oh and he also sucked his thumb. So cute! Percy was no where to be seen. His bed was still neatly folded like last night. He never folds his bed, so he must've never come back last night. Hmm . . .

I got dressed in the orange Camp Half Blood t-shirt today. As I got ready I kept as quiet as possible, trying not to wake anyone in the process. I put my belongings away and quietly walked out the door. The door creaked as I opened it. Nico stirred. I tried opening it slower which resulted in a longer and higher pitched screech. Dakota was annoyed and flipped to his stomach. During this transition the blanket fell off of him. I decided to quickly open the door and run out.

I sighed in relief.

_**BANG!**_ The door slammed behind me. I jumped in the surprise and put my ear to the door. I listened but not one woke. I sighed in relief again knowing there is nothing else that can disturb them anymore. I jogged through the silent camp to look for Percy.

It was misty out and a little gloomy. Not the scary kind of gloomy, but the sad kind. I walked down the main road and into New Rome. I passed the Senate House and the Forum. Only a couple demigods were walking around. And of course the only one who comes up to me is covered in stuffing.

"Hey!" Octavian called to me. I turned to see him jog toward me.

"Hi."

"So, why are you up so early?" He said with a quirky smile on his lips.

"Oh, you know. Just getting a head start on the day. The early bird gets the worm!" I said ending it with a nervous laugh.

"Right. How was you first nights sleep at Camp Jupiter?" He asked.

"Oh, it was great." I lied.

"The fifth cohort is pretty comfortable. Yeah." He and I kept walking down the path. "So, I wanted to ask you if you'd be willing to help me."

"With what?"

"We need to get an insight on this secret part of the prophecy that you told of. Now I found a way that will bring back everything Rachel said about it to her mind. But you're the only one who's heard it from the god's mouth. If we perform this ritual correctly, we can find out if other deaths are to occur."

"Oh." I though about this. _Wasn't Octavian the really crazy guy at Camp Jupiter that I keep hearing about? "__Weeeell_ . . ."

"Please?" He gave me a puppy eyed beg. I never thought a guy like him could pull something like that off, but something in me couldn't say no . . .

"Oh okay." I sighed.

"Great! I'll go and prepare everything and we can get started after morning breakfast." He smiled and ran off with stuffing falling in the wind.

"I hope I don't look like that after this 'ritual'." I mumbled to myself.

* * *

I stepped into the Coliseum. I walked into the center and spied the little cranny in the corner. I was happy to find a lump with a black mop of hair slumped on the wall. Percy was sleeping. Mrs. O'Leary was awake and jumped up when she saw me. Percy's eyes fluttered open and I caught his attention. He pretended to not to notice me, but I knew that he had. It was no use anyway so I approached him and started talking with him.

"Did you get any sleep?" I asked.

"No."

"I'm sorry about that."

No response. Mrs. O'Leary whimpered at Percy's coldness.

"Can you please talk to me?" I asked pleadingly.

"What about?" He asked. I sat next to him and Mrs. O'Leary lay across both of our laps.

"How about brotherly love?" I said sarcastically. He snorted.

"Well, first off. I'm not your brother, and second I don't love you."

"I know." I replied. He noticed my sadness.

"Aw, look. It's just hard for me. I mean I was like the only child of Poseidon at camp. I was someone . . . different."

"What about Tyson?" I asked. He chuckled.

"He _is _different, but I meant demigod child."

"Okay, why are you so upset?" I asked him.

"It's like if my mom and Paul had a baby. I'm not that special anymore." He frowned at the possibility of having a mortal sibling.

"You're still Percy, Savior of Olympus!" I reminded him. He smiled then it quickly faded.

"Thanks." He mumbled. "I just hate how my whole life is planned out for me. I don't get to make decisions. Only the critical ones like in the battle with Kronos a few years back. I had to decide to give Luke the knife or kill the titan myself. I was to decide to become a god or not. I had to decide whether to benefit the future demigods or save my butt from being electrocuted by Zeus' master bolt. And no matter what I choose, people are always nagging for me to do the right thing. I don't know the right thing!" He said.

"Percy, I feel for you." I said trying to cheer him up. "But, just be grateful for the choice to live in the future." I said.

"It must be pretty hard on you, I guess." He whispered.

"Can you give me a chance?" I said as I pulled back his long black bangs away from his eyes. He looked at me. "You haven't even given me a full day yet to prove myself worthy of being your sister." I joked. He didn't say anything. "Come on. Let's go get breakfast together. Just you and me."

"Alright." He didn't seem excited about getting to know his one and only sister, but he didn't seem upset. Was it a good sign or a bad one?

* * *

We were one of the first people in the dining pavilion. We got our breakfast. And again we got the same foods. Scrambled eggs with cheese on top, and blueberry blue pancakes. Oh, and chocolate milk. Yum!

We got off to a good start. You know, a little conversation here, a little munch there. But of course Annabeth and the gang walk on in. I sighed loudly hoping Percy would get the hint. But then again, he's a guy. That statement says it all.

"Hey guys." Annabeth said. She took her tray and scooted next to me. Did you get that? Next to me, not Percy, but me. "Did you guys have good sleep?" Percy and I nodded. It looked like Annabeth didn't though. She had dark rings under her eyes.

_Was she actually being . . . nice? Actually concerned about me? Whoa, weird._

"Did you get any dreams last night? I sure did." Travis said sitting at the other end of the table.

"Me too." Frank added.

"Yeah, I did. I've been having them for a while now. Nico told me that demigods have dreams. Do they happen this often?" I asked. The whole table burst out laughing.

"_Often?_ Man, they happen every night!" Connor answered.

_Great! I'll never sleep peacefully!_

"During the battle of Olympus in Manhattan last year," Annabeth started, " It was really hard for us to get rest time." Everyone nodded. "And you know? That was the only time I ever got a dreamless sleep." A whole bunch of 'yeah's and 'me too's went around the table. "That's because all of the gods and titans were too busy fighting or planning that they didn't have time to haunt us in our sleep. So," She looked at me. "What was you dream about?"

"Nothing much . . ." I lied.

"Oh come on. Demigod dreams usually mean something. Tell us." She said with a smile.

"Well, I was standing in front of my apartment complex." Percy looked at me. "I mean Percy's apartment complex. And well I just felt home." Percy's eyes softened on me. I think he realized that I miss the same things he does. Mom. "I wanted to go up to the apartment and see my mom, but then I remembered that she wouldn't even realize that I am- that she is . . ." My voice trailed off. Everyone had sympathetic eyes on me. "Anyway, that wasn't the weird part of my dream. There was a woman standing next to me on the street. She was at _least_ seven feet tall and her attire was completely brown." Everyone got nervous. Some exchanged glances and others looked away. Could they have had the same meeting with Mother Gaea also? "We started talking and she told me about how the gods are using us. Is it true?" Annabeth thought for a moment.

"Yes, they use us," She said,

"They could barely tie their sandals without us . . ." Clarisse mumbled.

Annabeth glared at Clarisse and continued. "They can't handle their problems directly. It was really hard last year when they were fighting for Olympus. Storms, earthquakes, wild fires, basically another war was virtually everywhere!" I tapped into Percy's memories and saw the storms and earthquakes and so much more. Annabeth continued, "Living a demigod life will always put you in danger," She yawned. She seemed really tired. "but they're our parents. They love us no matter what happens." She smiled at the thought. "Now, finish your dream."

"Well, Mother Gaea and I went up to see Mom." Leo, Hazel, and Frank looked astonished. What was so bad about calling Percy's mom my mom?

"D-did you say Gaea?" Leo asked. Now I understood why they were alarmed.

"Yeah." I replied. Hazel and Frank whispered to each other.

"Okay, as I was saying. We went up to the apartment and saw my mom."

"Did she say anything?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, she was wondering how you were doing. She misses you." Percy looked sad.

"I completely forgot about her! I'll be right back. I have to Iris message her." He got up from the table and dashed out of the dinning pavilion.

"Well, go on!" Piper urged.

I continued my dream. "We talked for a bit and then Percy barged in. And he didn't look too happy." I looked around to make sure Percy didn't come back. "He got jealous that I was with his mom. And. . . and he started attacking me."

"Percy is good. Percy doesn't do that." Tyson said.

"I know, that's why I was confused. Then Gaea said that the gods can make us go crazy like that on each other."

"Well they wouldn't, because they need us. That would be bad battle strategy. Gaea was probably just manipulating your dream. She can twist your mind around." Annabeth explained. "Did she say anything else?" Annabeth inquired.

"She told me that the gods have been in power too long. That they have messed up the world with their mistakes."

"Some of it's true . . ." Connor said.

"Then she asked me if I'd help her."

Jason furrowed his eyebrows. "Well, what did you say?" He asked.

"I told her I'd have to think about it." I touched the business card in my pocket.

_Whew! It's still there. _I think I'll keep it a secret for now . . .

"Good, because she's on the enemies side." Rachel said.

I raised an eyebrow. "She is? She seemed so nice."

"Psh. . . Only nice for a while. . ." Leo mumbled.

"Yeah, she can get pretty scary." Hazel said. She shivered from her own comment. We all looked at her. Did she have an encounter earth the earth goddess also? "Or so I hear . . ." She saved herself for a big explanation, though we were all still a little suspicious.

"She is the whole reason this war exists!" Travis put in. "She is trying to bring back her dead children to overthrow Olympus! She opened the doors of death and now no one can die and stay dead. Plus the dead are coming back to life!"

"Yeah, it's all in the prophecy of seven. Haven't you heard it?" Thalia asked.

"Well I can't find it in Percy's memories . . . What's the first line?" I asked

"I don't even have a choice." Rachel said. Her eyes glowed and a green mist poured out of her mouth. All of the tables in the dining pavilion stared to look at her. I saw Octavian and he looked jealous and amazed.

"_Seven half-bloods shall answer the call-"_

I knew the rest. "_To storm or fire, the world must fall._

_ An oath to keep with a final breath,_

_And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death._" I whispered to myself.

"You do remember it!" Thalia cried.

"Yeah, I guess I do." _I'm still confused. About everything!_ Rachel came back to normal and all of the campers of Camp Jupiter 'ooh'ed and 'ahh'ed over her. Octavian was oozing jealousy.

* * *

After breakfast Rachel and I went over to the temple where Octavian murders innocent teddy bears.

"Glad you two could make it on _time_." He said as we entered the temple.

"Sorry, we're only like five minutes late." Rachel said.

"Late? You said it not me. Then let's get right to it." Octavian went over to the door and locked it. He turned around sinisterly. Probably for effect, because all he did was walk past us to retrieve a certain teddy bear for his sacrifice.

The temple had very high ceilings and a mountain of teddy bears next to a table covered in stuffing. Rachel and I looked at each other like:

_Seriously? That is disturbing._

"Now, I need you," He grabbed my elbow and pulled me over to the side. "-to whisper what the gods told you about the secret prophecy to this little guy." He passed me the cute little brown teddy bear. Its eyes were so big. And even though a smile was stitched on his face, his eyes had depth and sadness.

"Aren't you a little _old _to be playing with stuffed animals?" I said cleverly.

"They're not stuffed animals." He snapped. "They are instruments used for the necessary art of prophetic practices. Now speak to it."

_Ohmigods! He's wacko! He wants me to talk to a stuffed bear!_

"Alright . . ." I took the bear and put my lips to it's ear.

"'_To save the Olympus- an attempt goes awry:_

_The child of Poseidon in the end must die.'" _I whispered. I turned around and handed it to Octavian. He went to his work table and pushed of all of the other stuffing onto the ground. He sliced open the bear I had told my secret to and the stuffing piled out.

I almost cried.

_No! You poor little lifeless toy . . ._

He put some secret powder on the scattered stuffing, what ever it was, and rubbed it in . . . Weird.

"Okay, Rachel." He turned to her. "Drink this." He pulled out a vile that he had stored in his desk.

Rachel glanced at me then Octavian and then the vile. "It's not going to kill me right?" She took hold of the vile cautiously.

"No, it's not going to _kill _you." He replied.

"Okay . . ." She took a quick swig and turned green at the contact on her tounge. "Ugh! What is this?"

"Fish oil, Alzheimers medication, a teeny bit of nectar and a special memory reviver that one of the Apollo kids gave me." Octavian explained. Rachel made a disgusted face.

"And you trust them?" She tried hacking back up the formula Octavian fed her.

"Chill out. Now, here." He brought her over to the table with the stuffing he was recently playing with. "Spit on it." He commanded her.

"Spit on it?" She said with a bit of sass in her voice.

"Yes. Don't question my methods! Not all of us have the special power to speak green smoke."

"Okay. You don't have to get so mad." She went over to the table and spit on the stuffing. But even grosser than that was that Octavian mixed the saliva into the stuffing. Ewww gross!

"Now Claire, Speak the beginning part of the prophecy loud and clear." He instructed. I took a deep breath.

"'_To save the Olympus- an attempt goes awry:_

_The child of Poseidon in the end must die.'" _ My voice echoed in the temple. Rachel's eyes glowed and the green fog poured out of her mouth again. Over near Octavian's side the bear's insides started glowing also. While Rachel spoke the rest of the prophecy the stuffing spelled it out in the air.

"_Wisdom's daughter walks alone_

_The mark of Athena burns through Rome_

_To save Olympus- an attempt goes awry:_

_The child of Poseidon in the end must die._

_Impossible, it is: closing the Doors of Death,_

_Without one dying in soulless breath._

_A goddess shall fall and rise in the end_

_With the help of a false demigod friend._

_Allies will be brought back from dead,_

_But friends no more, enemies instead._

_Beware of the curse that shall cause this all._

_Will the last hero destroy us all?"_

Rachel returned back to her normal self and was confused.

"What did I say?" Octavian and I couldn't move or say anything. It was like my body just decided to be paralyzed.

"I-I" Was all I could make out.

"Well?" She put her hands on her hips in annoyance.

"That . . . was . . . AWESOME!" Octavian jumped. "It actually worked! My method worked!" He skipped around, arms flailing, and opened the doors and screamed. "YEAHHH! IT WORKED! HAHAHA!" People started to stare. Nico passed by the temple and Octavian ran up and kissed him on the cheek then hopped away. Nico looked at me and mouthed 'What did you do?' I just shook my head.

"What happened?" Rachel looked at me.

"I don't know," I thought for a second. "Did you say that Gaea is a _goddess_ earlier?"

"Yeah.

"Oh no."

* * *

**Gaea has arrived! She warped Claire's dream pretty bad huh? Don't worry, I know that Percy is really a sweet sensitive guy whose not all that bright, but is still beast with a pretty damn awesome sword. Gaea's just distorting Claire's conscience. Will Claire be able to stand strong against the mother of all living things? FIND OUT NEXT THURSDAY! Oh yeah, and review. **

**-Eri :)**

**Until next week . . .**


	6. Let's Go Get My Soul Reaped! Yay!

**This chapter basically gives you an idea of what her days at Camp Jupiter were like. I hope you guys like it . . . that's about it.**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns ALL! **

**-Eri ;)**

* * *

Chapter 6

Nico walked over to us as I searched the temple frantically for paper. When I finally found some I took a pen and began writing down the secret prophecy.

"What happened?" Nico asked rubbing his face from Octavian cooties. I ignored him and continued writing.

_ What was after 'The doors of death.' Oh yes, Without one dying in final breath. _I wrote.

"I don't know-" Rachel answered him confused.

"Sh!" I interrupted them waggling my finger in their faces. I had to write this down before I forgot it.

"Why-"

"Sh."

"Clair-"

"SHH!"

_The last line was . . . Will the last hero employ, decoy, is a boy, Leroy (wait- that's what Dionysus calls Leo), enjoy? No, destroy? Will the last hero destroy us all. _Done.

I passed the paper to them triumphantly. Nico read it over quickly and Rachel stared at it confused (even more so).

"I said all _that_?" She asked.

I nodded.

She looked at the paper quizzically then back up at me, then down at the paper, back up at me."You asked me if Gaea was a goddess . . . C-could she . . ." Rachel stuttered.

I shrugged. "I know, 'A goddess shall fall and _rise_ in the end.' Could Gaea actually win this battle? And what about 'the last hero'? What could that mean? Will we all die with only one demigod to survive?" I wondered aloud.

"I'm more afraid about the 'destroying us all' part." Rachel added in a sardonic way.

Nico took the prophecy from her and examined it again. "We have to bring this to Chiron right away."

* * *

We ran out of the temple as fast as we could. As we stomped up the plank that led to the Argo II Rachel almost tripped. Nico banged on the door and Chiron came out with his tail in tied up neatly.

"WHAT?" The centaur exclaimed.

"Uh . . ." Rachel pointed to the blue curlers.

He plucked them off his tail. "OH! Never mind that . . ."

"Did you just wake up?" Nico asked. I was about to ask the same question. Chiron never looked this disheveled.

He sighed and clopped closer to us. "Yes, I've been up all night with Annabeth thinking about this secret prophecy." _Oh that's why she was so tired this morning! I get it now . . ._

"Well, you don't need to worry anymore!" Rachel said proudly. She handed him the paper.

"What is this?" Chiron asked.

"It's the secret prophecy." Rachel answered. Rachel and I smiled proudly at our accomplishment.

"H-how . . ." Chiron's hands trembled as he held the fragile paper.

"Octavian did one of his special rituals." I explained Octavian's whole idea and how it worked.

Rachel asked, "Hey Chiron? Doesn't nectar like, _kill_ a mortal if consumed? Because Octavian made me s-swallow some." She almost turned green right there at the thought. "I didn't feel anything funny. Is it because I host the oracle?"

"I don't know, but we shall have a meeting at lunch to tell Reyna the secret prophecy." Chiron said. I was surprised. _Chiron? Not knowing something? That's unheard of!_

"Not so secret anymore . . ." I mumbled.

"Then we'll decide on if we should tell the whole camp." He continued. "So it's a secret between us. And keep it that way until we figure out what's going on." Chiron commanded.

"And Octavian!" Rachel reminded him.

The centaur's face became serious. "Yes, make sure he doesn't peep a word."

"Alright." We said in unison.

Chiron went back inside and took the paper with him.

* * *

"Who is the false hero?" I asked as we walked down the main road.

"I don't know." Nico replied. We walked down the path to New Rome.

_Who isn't really a demigod here at camp? _I thought. Clarisse is a little odd, but she's a demigod. Annabeth might be a little nasty, but there's not doubt that she's a daughter of the _All Time Know-It-All. _Leo, Hazel, Frank, Piper, Percy, Jason . . . They're all _normal _demigods. _Wait a minute- normal . . ._

My eyes widened. "Could . . . could _I _be the false hero?" I asked. "I mean, I wasn't born the same way the others were. I'm not a demigod _naturally._" Rachel looked at me astonished.

"Maybe it's me!" She cried. "I'm not a demigod, but I go to Camp Half Blood. Am I still called a hero?" She looked worried.

"I'm sure it's not you guys." Nico said.

I knew it wasn't Rachel. Sure she's the Oracle of Delphi, but she's not a hero. If I didn't know my fate, I wouldn't think I could be a hero either. But sacrificing yourself for the savior of Olympus sounds pretty heroic to me . . .

* * *

Nico and Rachel said that they were going to go to the sword training class. I told them that I had to go and find Octavian and tell him to keep the prophecy on the 'down low'. For some reason, I had a feeling that he wasn't going to be hushed easily.

I found him outside leaning on the temple wall writing something. There he was a tall lanky boy with bleach blonde hair and a very narrow face. He had blue eyes like Jason, but these were more of a duller blue, darker and more mysterious. He had freckles all over his nose and he had the longest eyelashes. Not the typical eighteen year-old boy.

"Whatch'a doin'?" I sang skipping over to him.

"Oh, this? I'm writing out the secret prophecy. I'm trying to at least." He replied with his head bent over his work and his bangs falling in front of his eyes.

"Well, I already wrote it out." That caught his attention. His blue eyes made contact with mine.

"You did? Can I see it?"

I puffed out a light little laugh. "No."

"No? Why not?" His face showed much concern.

"Because, Chiron said that we should keep it on the quiet side for now. At least until he notifies Reyna about it." Octavian just snorted then he got up.

"Since when do I listen to a _graceus_?" He clasped his hands together. "Look, _I'm _going to tell Reyna, because I uncovered this pain-in-the-neck prophecy. It's only fair. So give it to me." He held his hand out. _Sure, I was just going to hand it over. HA!_ I didn't even have it! Funny . . .

I kept my hands clasped behind my back as if I were hiding the prophecy. "Come on Octavian, Chiron says he'll tell Reyna at lunch or even sooner." I persuaded.

He frowned. "Reyna should know about it now. Not from a Greek either, _especially_ not from a horse guy. He cannot be trusted!" He waggled his finger at me.

"He's a _centaur _and he has a name." Ignoring me Octavian continued as he paced around me.

"She should be told by a Roman. And since I'm the only Roman that heard it, I'm the only plausible option."

"_Plausible_ _option_, uhuh." I said sarcastically.

"Shut up. I was _going_ to let you tell her, but it seems to me that you're listening to the Greek geeks."

"If you haven't noticed, you're the geekiest demigod at this camp!"

"Am not!"

"Are too! You and your stupid sibylline books!" I yelled.

He gasped. "They are not stupid! They are volumes full of intellectual prophecies to assist in the complex study of divination!" His nostrils flared.

"That is the idiotic-est thing I've heard all day."

"'Idiotic-est' isn't event a word, Miss. Intelligence." He snapped at me. _Well!_

I pursed my lips in frustration. "Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way." I said getting tired of our witty banter.

"What's the newbie gonna do?" He said getting all in my face.

I knew he wasn't going to make this easy so I uncapped Riptide II and pushed him up against the temple wall with my sword under his chin. His eyes widened in surprise as he elongated his neck to escape from the sharp blade.

"Stop," he squeaked out. "I-I . . ."

"I'm sorry Octavian. I didn't want to have to do this. You gave me no choice. Now, swear on the River Styx that you won't tell anyone about . . ." I looked around us to make sure no one was listening. " . . . the secret prophecy until Reyna knows about it and allows you to talk about it." He nodded.

"I-I . . ." He stammered. Then in one fluid motion he grabbed Riptide II by the hilt and threw it off to the side. He flipped our position so that I was backed up against the wall with his hands locking my shoulders in place. "I-I . . . I got you." He cackled. "And now that you're listening to me, read my lips. You. Can't. Stop. Me. So hand over the prophecy!" I couldn't think of any good comebacks except for: No! So I stood there silent. You may be already thinking this, but all I thought was: _AWKWARD! _I mean we just stood there, fiercely eying each other. Staring (without blinking) into each other's eyes, neither one of us giving in.

Our faces were a few inches apart. I glanced at my sword down to the right. _Only if I could reach it._ Then I saw his gaze flicker down to my lips then back up to my eyes. He looked hungry, but not for food, if you know what I mean . . . He released the pressure on my right shoulder and moved his arm above me and leaned it on the wall. That allowed him to lean closer to me. He began to tilt his head with closed eyes. I saw my chance and took it. I kick flipped my sword and caught it. Just as Octavian's lips would have come in contact with mine I slid the sword between us. Octavian opened his eyes. Confused of the cold metal he just kissed he blushed, realizing what he had just tried to do.

_He tried to kiss me! _Good Lord . . .

I stuck the pointy edge of my sword on the tip of his nose. He held his arms up as if to say _I surrender _as he backed up. I kept the same pressure between his face and the celestial bronze. He kept backing up and I followed until he bumped into a tree.

"Now, you'll swear on the River Styx. Right?" I said as sweetly as possible. He nodded as he stared cross-eyed down at Riptide II.

"I swear on the River Styx." He said.

"You swear on the River Styx- what?" I pressed on. He tensed and squinted his eyes shut.

"I-swear-on-the-River-Styx-that-I-won't-tell-anyone-about-the-secret-prophecy-until-Reyna-knows-and-gives-me-permission. There." He swore all in one breath and then relaxed. I capped my sword.

I smirked at him. "Now, that wasn't so hard." He just pursed his lips shaking his head. "Come on," I said. "We missed sword training. The whole camp is probably eating already . . . Lets grab some lunch."

He finally agreed and we walked together to the dining pavilion. In silence.

I wondered why he tried to kiss me. I mean it was my second day here, he didn't even know me, I'm a Greek, and I'm like three years younger that him. Do you think it's Aphrodite's blessing? Oh gods, I hope so.

"Stupid Aphrodite's blessing . . ." I mumbled to myself.

The one guy that is attracted to me is a freakin' teddy bear murderer! I hate Aphrodite . . .

* * *

We entered the cafeteria. I went to the fifth cohort table and tried to sit next to Nico. I just had to tell him about the Octavian incident. Just my luck, all spots were taken. So I squeezed in next to Tyson on the end.

I just listened to the others conversations at lunch while eating. Occasionally I would wipe the peanut butter spit off my face that Tyson coated me with.

After lunch, I went to archery class and then Greek history with Chiron. Then there was a break time where I could do just about anything. Next was dinner and what was supposed to be a game. However the weather had different plans. It decided to pour down on our little camp. Unlike Camp Half Blood this place wasn't immune to the effects that Zeus' anger issues caused.

Instead of games, we studied Roman history.

Wahoo. (Note the sarcasm)

Unlike Greek history, the Romans told about a lot of death and wars. At least in Greek history there was humor and feeling oh, and love (So romantic!), Roman history was strictly about battle strategy and enemies. Someone asked Reyna, who happened to be teaching the class with Octavian, if Romans ever loved. Reyna didn't answer, but instead dismissed the class.

So my second day at Camp Jupiter wasn't half bad, huh? I got ready for bed and snuggled up in my blanket while the others also got in bed. Dakota turned the lights out without any fuss from Percy tonight. As soon as it was dark I heard their little routine:

"Good night Frank." Hazel's voice whispered.

"G'night Hazel. Good night Percy." Frank replied.

"Good night Frank. Night Nico." Percy added.

"Night Percy, Good night Claire." Nico said.

"Good night Nico." I said as I was dozing off.

"AHEM!" Someone coughed. I realized it was Dakota.

"Oh! Good night Dakota." I said drowsily.

"G'night Claire. Night Hazel."

"Night Dakota." She replied and we all drifted into our terrifying halfblood dreams.

* * *

I have become accustomed to these dreams. This time I was in a dark pit. I could tell it was a pit because of the earthy smell. And that was the only distinction. I was standing in the center of the pit paralyzed so that I could only move my head. That's when Mother Gaea came into the light and slowly paced around me.

"Poor girl, you can't move." She said noticing my struggle.

"Let me go." I commanded.

"Well, you know how it feels now, don't you?" She said coarsely. "I've been trapped for over three _millennia_ and has ANYONE FREED ME?" She raised her voice. I gulped.

"What do you want with me?" I asked sternly. "Oh, and whatever it is, I won't give it to you."

"You know, it was wrong to tell your friends about me." She sighed. "They just love making up stories about me." She shook her head.

"How did you know that?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Ha, I'm Gaea! I told you, I can be in many places at once." She said as she circled around me. "And you are too special of a demigod to loose. I always keep an eye on you."

"You little stalker!" I yelled.

"While you call it stalking, I call it research. As long as I know your fears." She said as she went behind me so I couldn't see her. She grasped my shoulders and whispered in my right ear. "and weaknesses," Then she turned to the other ear and whispered. "you will always be my little pawn." I whipped my head around to look at her. I barely saw her out of the corner of my eye.

"I will never be your little pawn. I won't ever listen to you and you can count on that!"

"But you have already helped me."

"What?" She sighed and pulled out a piece of paper. It was the page torn out of the sibylline book that I wrote the secret prophecy on! How the heck did she get her hands on _that?_

"Now where is it. Ah, right here," She said pointing to a line on the paper. "_A goddess shall fall and rise in the end with the help of a false demigod friend. _Now, I wonder who that could be?" She asked innocently. _I can't believe I freakin' helped her. Curse my life._

Then I thought about her question. "Who, the goddess or demigod?" I asked harshly.

"Why, we all know that the goddess is me." She said matter-of-factly. "But my faithful servant, I had just found out recently."

"You know what the prophecies mean?" I asked. She looked at me quizzically.

She hesitated. "Yes." She said not so sure of herself.

"Hmm. Well, who is your _faithful servant?_"

"HA! You're not getting secrets out of me so easily, my dear."

"Fair enough." I stated and struggled just a bit more. "Now, what is it that you want from me?"

"Why everything! But in particularly, your body. You'd make a perfect host."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She sighed that she'd have to explain this to me. "You remember Kronos' host, Luke."

My eyes widened. "You wouldn't . . ."

"But I would!" She cackled. "You see, I was going to use your brother. I know using a male's body is not my best idea, but he would have been the best cover. Then you come along." She dragged he freshly manicured nails across my neck that sent chills up my spine.

"I will _NEVER_ give succumb!"

"Oh, but you will. Your father planned it, didn't he?"

I was stunned. Was this what my father wanted me to die for? Was this my fate? I couldn't let this monster take my life.

"That is not my destiny." I decided.

"No matter, I shall take Percy's life then." I looked at her horrified. "Whatever happens, you're going to give in anyway. Either to save Percy's life, or to simply surrender. So, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

"I will put up a good fight." I snarled. She just chuckled.

"Good luck!" She snapped her fingers. I immediately collapsed and drifted into a mindless sleep.

* * *

I woke up in the fifth cohort feeling so good. That was the best sleep that I had, ever. I looked around and Nico was the only one up. Though he wasn't in the cabin. Then the door swung open . . .

"I can't believe I forgot my freakin' cloth-" There was Nico in a towel, only a towel around his waist. I covered my eyes as fast as possible. Not because I didn't like seeing Nico's bare chest. _Actually I quite enjoyed it . . . _But I hid my face so he couldn't see my red cheeks from blushing. He saw me covering my eyes. "Holy shitoki mushrooms!" He ran into the bathroom.

"Sorry." I squeaked. He fumbled around in there for a while. Then I hear the door squeak open. Though he still wasn't dressed. He poked his head through the little crack and whispered trying not to wake the others.

"Yeah, um. I kinda forgot my clothes . . . They're on the end of my bed . . . Can you like . . ." He bit his lip and looked away for a moment. "Pass them to me?" He was blushing. I, like the nerd I am, tiptoed over to his bed and picked up the pile of clothes, covered my eyes with the other hand and quickly ran over to the bathroom door, but hit the wall with my face instead. _Smart move Claire! Cover your eyes . . . SO YOU CAN'T SEE! _

I found the door and said_._ "Take 'em!" He quickly grabbed them and shut the door. Then I heard a muffled 'Thanks'.

Will my mornings ever be normal?

* * *

The next few days were quite the same. Training, history classes, meals and the end of the day games that nearly killed me. Though, there was a secret meeting held every day that included Leo, Piper, Jason, Annabeth, Percy, Hazel, Frank, Nico, Reyna Chiron and me. It was labeled THE SECRET PROPHECY MEETING. Like _that_ was secretive. I mean seriously, they put a sign like that outside the door so no one would disturb us . . . (Okay, you caught me. I put that there. Connor and Travis were starting to rub off on me.) The others said I _had_ to be there. I mean my destiny was to save Percy right? Well, I was happy they included me. I don't like being left out. Even if I didn't know what in Hades they were talking about. It was extremely confusing.

Every afternoon we'd have to go to the senate and hand over our weapons to Terminus. Ah he was always a great guy to tell a joke to. Why? Because he never get them! Oh, I bet you, he's the most interesting statue you'll ever meet! Here's an example of what one of our meetings was like:

"Alright, hand over the weapons." Terminus said and Julia, his little assistant who was about six years old, had a bucket filled with weapons.

"You're using some pretty strong words there buddy." I said as I dropped my purple pen in the bucket.

Terminus looked at me funny. "What do you mean, exactly?"

"You said _hand_ over the- you see, you don't have any . . ." This guy didn't have a clue. So I begun to explain the bad pun. "You said _hand_ over the weapons, and you don't have any _hands_." I said. I even wiggled my fingers at him to give and example.

He huffed. "Eh, she's got hands and a whole bottom half, but this demigod is wasting life on jests." He mumbled to himself and I chuckled my way into the senate house.

"Order, order!" Reyna said and slammed a gavel down on the table. "Now, time for attendance. Perseus Jackson!"

"Here." Percy said with lack of enthusiasm.

"Annabeth Chase!"

"Present." She replied.

"Leo Valdez!"

"I'm here, and single . . ." He said with raised eyebrows. Reyna just face palmed. And so, after the attendance one day, we talked about using the Argo II as transportation.

"Since we cannot go by foot where it is Gaea's domain, we should travel by sky or sea." Leo pointed out. It actually made sense! Then he pulled up a covered chart all businessman-like and stood before us all. He whipped off the cover and reveled a five-year-old drawing attached to thick piece of cardboard. "I give you, the Argo II!" He said in a professional voice. "It can fly, it can sail, it's got seven cabins with seven beds!" He ran over to Piper and handed her . . . a script? "Read it." He whispered.

"Does it have a kitchen?" She asked in a monotone.

"You want it, I got it!" He yelled back like an announcer for a car dealership commercial.

"How about a bathroom?"

"You want it, I got it!"

"Is it stocked with armor and weapons?"

"You want it, I got it!"

"Are you single? Wait, wha-" She questioned her own words.

"You want it," He winked at me. "I got it." _Oh, brother!_

Another time we discussed who was going on the quest. It was interesting . . . Oh, but before we get into it, I want to point out that I was barely listening to the conversations. Mostly I was playing with my hair.

"Alright, I should go because, well, this quest requires me." Reyna said. Yup, she did sound full of herself. So you're not hallucinating.

"Well, I must go." Leo said.

"And why is that?" Reyna retorted. She obviously didn't want him to be on _her _quest.

"Well, Let me reference the prophecy of seven: to storm or _fire _the world must fall. Fire is me!"

"Yeah, the world must _fall_! What better reason for you to stay here?" She replied.

"Reyna, Leo has to go." Percy said. "He's the only Hephaestus kid that can control fire. Plus, I think the Fates brought him to Jason for this very reason."

"Hmm." Was the praetor's reply.

"I think that all of us were brought together for this quest." Piper said. "I mean Jason had Leo and me to help him with his quest, and Percy had Frank and Hazel to help with _his _quest."

Frank coughed. "Actually, it was my quest."

"It doesn't matter whose quest it was," Chiron explained. "Piper's right, you were all meant to go on this quest."

"But there's nine of us." Annabeth pointed out. "I know I have to go on this quest though." She said looking at Reyna. Oooh! Was Annabeth calling Reyna out?

"What?" Reyna snapped. "I'm going." She said.

"But Percy and I have never gone on quests without each other." Annabeth said trying to create a sob story.

"Well, maybe Percy doesn't go on this one." Reyna suggested.

Percy was puzzled. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"Well, your dad said that Claire is here for a reason." As soon as she said my name I snapped back into reality. Well almost.

"Huh? I heard my name." I said. Reyna sighed in disgust.

"You're supposed to take Percy's place right?" That did not sound good. I thought I heard a growl come from my brother.

"Um, no." I corrected. "I'm supposed to _die _in his place. Not take it . . ."

"Well, you see! If you go, then you have to pick Annabeth or your sister, and your dad already chose your sister. Do you want to go against his will?" She yelled at Percy, putting him on the spot.

Percy thought for a moment. I knew that Percy would be devastated if he had to go without Annabeth on a quest this special. I also remembered what Gaea had told me in my dream. If I really was supposed to hand myself over to her, then did I really need to go on this quest?

"I don't _need _to go." I blurted out. They all stared at me in bewilderment. "I mean if Gaea is out for Percy's blood, why does it have to be on the quest?" Nico frowned at me. Apparently he didn't like me talking about my death so easily. I didn't care though, I mean, I knew it was coming.

"Who said anything about Gaea?" Chiron asked. Whoops. "The prophecy says: _To save Olympus- an attempt goes awry: the child of Poseidon in the end must die. _Nothing about Gaea." My eyes widened. I scrunched my nose.

"What are you hiding?" Nico asked.

"Why would you say that?" I asked

"You scrunch your nose when you try to lie. I noticed it on the island."

"I do NOT!" I said trying to straighten my nose as far as possible, which caused me to have a weird expression on my face.

"Mmm hmm." He mumbled sarcastically.

"Claire, it is crucial that we have as much information as can be attained for this quest." Chiron convinced me. I took a deep breath.

"Well, I had a dream last night and Gaea told me that she had been watching me. She probably _is _watching me right now . . . Anyway, she said that her plan originally was to use Percy as a host like Kronos did with Luke." A few people shuddered at the thought. "She said that my destiny was to take Percy's place as her host . . ."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Percy stood up from his seat. "Clearly, we need to talk more. You can't keep secrets of gods and titans in, trust me things do not end well." I think I saw a shimmer in his eye.

"I told her no."

"Good." He said as he sat back down and calmed down from protective mode.

"_Buuuut_," I started. He glared at me. "She said that she didn't care. If I wouldn't offer myself then she would go after you again. So in the end I would end up sacrificing myself for you anyway. It kind of makes sense."

"It most certainly does _not _make sense!" Annabeth exclaimed. "I should know! My mother invented sense for crying out loud!" I just rolled my eyes.

"Do not submit yourself to her. Never give up. We will find a way for you fulfill your father's will without surrendering to the enemy." Chiron stared directly into my eyes. "In the mean time, I think we've accomplished enough for one day. Meeting adjourned!" He got to use the gavel that time.

* * *

So you see the dilemma. Every meeting brought up the same question. Will Claire go with us? And after every meeting I would run back to the fifth cohort and plop on my bed and pray to my dad.

_Why me? Why at this time and this quest? Do you remember that I am truly only two months old? _

And would I get a reply? No! Of course not. Because my dad had much more important things to worry about than his only daughter who had just a few weeks left to live!

After attacking my pillow to let out my frustrations I would go to one of my dear friends who comforts me. Ella. Ella is harpy. That means she has wings and feathers and sharp talons. She's basically a bird girl. But she is so sweet and knows just about everything. She always knows the right words to say when you're down and in a slump.

One day as I was about to bury my head in my pillow, I saw a note on the end of my bed. I unfolded it.

_**Meet me at the lake right after the game.**_

Hm. Interesting. I stuck the note in my pocket and went off to sword training with Jason.

* * *

It was very fascinating to see the different styles that Jason and Percy taught. Jason taught all about strategy, while Percy taught about going with your gut. Jason told us that technique is everything. Percy said just wing it. Not literally though. He said that the way you execute a certain move didn't mater. All that mattered is if you stayed alive and thought on you feet. Both ways worked of course. Though, I was more accustomed to Percy's ways.

In Greek history class, the one that Chiron and Annabeth taught, I knew everything. I basically could have taught the class. Because my father put so much information in my head, I could easily answer the questions Annabeth asked. One time Chiron got his information mixed up and I tried correcting him. He said stop to being a know-it-all, because he knows what happened, he was there! That's when Annabeth took out the ancient records that were on the original scrolls and pointed out his mistake. I snickered inside, but dared not to out loud.

* * *

That day I skipped lunch because Chiron needed to talk to me.

"Take a seat Claire." He told me. I sat.

"You wanted to see me Chiron?"

"Yes. It is about the quest." Uh-oh.

"What about it?" I asked.

"I've been speaking to Lupa, my counterpart at Camp Jupiter. She and I have come to an agreement that you should not go on this quest." He said simply. I was devastated. Going to the meetings actually got me excited about going. Now he was saying I couldn't go?

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, you are not experienced yet."

"I know just as much as Percy." I fought back.

"But you've never really been on a quest. I'm sorry, but this is the quest of the century. We need strong heroes." He looked at me with sympathetic eyes. I was about to cry. "I have no doubt that monsters will start attacking the camps, and you'd be perfect to help protect-"

"No." I said. He was confused.

"No?"

"I need to go on this quest, Chiron."

"I can't make the decision for the group." He convinced himself. "Look, we're going to consult the Oracle of Delphi on Friday in front of everyone. If she calls your name then, I will allow you to go."

"That's in three days. Do we have time to wait that long?"

"That gives the quest about a week and a half before the Summer Solstice. Hopefully enough time for them to close the doors of death..."

"It's got to be enough time." I said. Chiron sighed. We heard the bell that rang for break time.

"Well it's free time now, you may do as you please." He dismissed me.

* * *

_ How dare he say I that I'm not strong enough! _I thought as I stomped toward the coliseum. We were allowed to practice sparing during break time so I headed over to the area where they practiced sword training. Travis was there and so we decided we'd practice on each other.

Travis was a son of Hermes. He had light curly brown hair and always has a mischievous smile on his face. He has dark brown eyes and is extremely tall. Not taller than Tyson, of course, but not exactly average. He cuts off the sleeves of his Camp Half Blood t-shirt to show his rebellious side, or so he says. He and his brother are always pulling pranks and picking up girlfriends every other week. But still, with all that baggage, he is still a great swordsman. We started to fight.

Our conversation began with the sounds of swords clashing. "You don't look too happy." He noticed my red face in anger from earlier.

"It's this stupid quest." I said when our swords clashed together. _Clang, clang, clang! _

"What happened? I wish I could go and listen in on what you guys are talking about. Connor and I have come up with some pretty good strategies."

"Well, that's fine by me if you go. I'm not allowed to go on the quest anyway."

"Huh?" He stopped the fight and stared at me confused.

"Keep going," I urged and he started fighting again. "This entire time I acted like going on the quest of the _century _wasn't a big deal. But now, I really want to go." I said.

He was still confused. "Explain to me what happened." He asked.

I slashed at his arm, but missed. "I guess I didn't prove myself 'worthy' of going on this quest. I thought I was getting pretty good at this whole demigod thing." I sighed. My sword dropped, but I hefted it back up again and swung at him. "The camp directors have come to an agreement. They decided that I am banned from this quest. And when I asked why, Chiron said that I'm . . ." My voice trailed into nothing.

"What?" He asked. I felt the anger boil in me again.

"I'm not." I knocked Travis' sword out of his hand. "Strong." I stabbed my sword into the ground and caused it to quake a little because my father is the earth shaker. "Enough." I folded my arms over the hilt of my sword and whimpered. "I'm sorry, let's continue fighting." I tried to pull my sword out of the ground. I couldn't. "Argh! I'm really _not strong enough!_" Travis came over to me and pulled the sword out of the ground for me. "Thanks . . ." I sniffled.

"No prob."

We fought for the rest of free time and I was so sweaty it looked like I jumped in the lake, and smelled terrible. I went back to the washrooms and clean up as best as I could. I slathered on so much deodorant that my armpits were completely white.

Dinner was . . . how do I put this nicely? Disgusting. Apparently someone switched out the real dinner with Mrs. O'Leary's dog biscuits. _The Stoll brothers. _Idiots. Travis may be nice, but he is still a Stoll. So I basically ate nothing that day.

* * *

That night the big game was Deathball. Frank described it as a simple game of paint-ball except using poison, acid and fireballs. This time we weren't divided into greeks and romans, but by cohorts and er, ship. Psh, simple!

The fifth cohort decided it was easier to spread out but have a partner so that we could always see behind us. Hazel was with Frank, (figures) Nico with Percy, and Dakota with me. We loaded ourselves with ammo and nectar. I took as much poison and acid balls because I could just whip up fire balls any time. HA!

The game was played on the Field of Mars which somehow had much more vegetation than before.

"How did this place change so quickly?" I asked Dakota.

"The children of Ceres help create the battle field for games then quickly destroy their work. It's easier to maintain that way."

"Ceres? You mean Demeter?" I translated.

"Er, yeah. Demetri, whatever." He replied. I snorted, then Chiron blew the horn.

The game was on.

Dakota and I were back to back. Then we decided to run side by side. Hiding behind trees and ducking under bushes to get a good view of who we were dealing with. I felt a prick on my chest and saw a green sploch on my camouflaged outfit. I looked up and saw a daughter of Ceres who had just shot me. Suddenly the green splotch morphed into vines and wrapped around me so I couldn't escape.

"Hey that's not fair!" I called.

"No one said anything about using your own powers!" She yelled back.

"Fine! You asked for it!" I broke free and created the most extreme fireball that I ever created. I stuck it in the paint-ball machine and she ran. I was about to follow, but Dakota caught the back of my shirt.

_Can't breathe! _My mind was telling me. "Hck! You almost made me choke!" I yelled at him and rubbed my throat.

"Stick. With. The. Plan."

"Jeez, okay."

We ventured out of the woods and I shot about seven people. Pretty good right? Well Dakota shot like about twenty-four with his grape-balls, which were like extra sticky. Then we decided to go back into the woods. Dakota and I were back to back when we saw Jason and Piper in view. Dakota motioned to me and mouthed the words 'Come on.' I followed him through the woods and we were about ten yards away from them now. He counted to three on his hands and we attacked them.

"Aha!" We attacked dummies. Yes dummies, decoys, impostors, whatever you want to call them. We were fools. Dakota and I were lifted into the sky in a net. Jason and Piper came out slowly clapping their hands.

"And that, my friend," He talked to Piper, "is how you trap oblivious fools." Piper laughed her cute little laugh when . . . Hazel and Frank attacked them with paint ball guns from behind! Jason and Piper fell unconscious on the ground.

"And that, my friends," Frank mimicked Jason, "Is one demonstration of how letting you guard down can affect you." Then he lifted his death ball gun and shot the guy sneaking up behind him. "Demonstration, numero dos."

The rest of the game was awesome. I got burned only a few times, but I was okay after some ambrosia squares. Who won you ask? Of course it was the Argo II. I mean they had Clarisse and the Stolls! Who else did you think was going to win?

* * *

I went back to the fifth cohort and got changed. This was the moment I had been anticipating all day! Going down to the lake at night just sounded relaxing.

I walked down to the lake and found Nico waiting. Somehow, I knew it was him who was going to be there.

"Hey!" I called.

"I see you got my note." He said walking over to me.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"We haven't talked in a long time." He said.

"Mm hmm. I miss our little conversations." I agreed as we sat by the edge of the water. We stared up at the sky like we did that first night he found me. Ah, memories. Then I broke the silence. "Thanks."

"For what?" He said, almost an exact replica of our night in the forest.

"What do you mean _for what?_" I said. He chuckled. "For bringing me here, dummy. You know, since you talked to Hazel, I've made plenty of friends." His eyes widened.

"She told you?"

"No, I listened in. Sorry." He breathed a nervous laugh. "Also coming here has shown me who I am and my destiny-"

"Stop." He interrupted. "Death is no one's destiny." He said with his eyes closed.

"Nico, everyone has to die at one point." I pointed out. "You should know that best."

"But death should be no one's . . . goal . . ." His voice trailed. I swallowed my tears that were bubbling inside me.

I croaked out, "I've accepted it." What a lie I had just said.

"Please don't talk about _your _death. It just makes me realize that some day I'll be walking through the Underworld and see you as I pass . . ." His voice cracked. "You don't know how much life is worth. Come on. I need to show you something." He held my hand and we shadow traveled.

* * *

I ran beside him on nothing. I felt like I was falling while moving my legs in a sprinting motion and the floor beneath me was missing. The coldness wrapped around me and I couldn't breathe as if the death was clogging my airways. We finally reached the light.

We were in the Underworld at the very edge of the gates to the Field of Asphodel. It was exactly the way I had seen in my dream. "If you ask anyone here if they had the opportunity to live again, they would all say yes without hesitation." He gestured to the fields. "Life is too precious. You can't belong to death, it shouldn't be the home you work towards." He dipped his hand in through the gates of Asphodel. His hand slid through the deceased souls.

"Was Bianca in there?" I asked. He didn't answer. I felt bad for asking, but I just couldn't help myself, I was curious. Suddenly I felt talons dig into my shoulders. I was lifted up into the heights of the Underworld.

Nico sensed that I wasn't behind him anymore and whipped around to see me flying. "Come back! Let go of her you stupid Fury!" Nico yelled and soon I was flying across the divisions of the Underworld.

I called back to Nico. "HEEEEEEELP!" I didn't struggle with the Fury though, because if she dropped me now, I'd be dead._ At least my soul wouldn't have that far to travel. _I thought.

Hades' palace came into view. The fury took me to the gloomy building. She dropped me into Hades' throne room rudely. _I could've broken my neck!_ Nico came rushing in after me. He knelt before his dad and I copied, I tried to at least. I stumbled as I tried to curtsy from being off balance.

"Father." Nico bowed.

"Lord Hades." I curtsied and fell.

"Demigods. Ahem." He shooed the Fury away. "Now, why are you here?" The god narrowed his beady eyes at me.

My voice seemed to stop working. "Oh, uh . . ."

"I was showing her something." Nico cut me off.

The god adjusted himself on his throne. "Well, I have waited a long time for one of my brother's spawns to come waltzing through my domain. That is, not on a quest anyway. Now I can finally destroy the mind of Percy Jackson."

_Uh, oh. _"Huh? I'm not Percy Jackson." I confirmed.

"Oh, I know. But your memories say different." His eyes glowed red.

The Lord of the Underworld clapped his hands. "Dad! Leave her alone!" Nico yelled sternly. It was pretty bold if you ask me. Then two other furies came up behind me and were about to drag me off. Nico was completely shocked at what was happening. He ran to rescue me.

"Wait! What is happening?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The god asked casually. "I'm taking your soul. You're going to be dead and I have the pleasure of deciding where you shall live for the rest of you deceased life. It's the way it works." How could this happen to me? One minute I'm at the lake at camp and the next I'm being dragged to my death! This is _not_ the way I'm supposed to die.

I yelled as I was about halfway through the door, "My life? You don't want to take my life!"

"And why is that? I can smell the sweet aroma of your soul seeping though the outer shell of your body." Hades smiled.

"First off- ew. Second- because-" I had to think of a quick excuse. _When in doubt, bribe the man._ "I-I . . . am the most powerful demigod to ever been born since Dionysus." I blurted.

He narrowed his eyes and stroked his beard. "Truly? Hmm go on."

"I-I have three godly parents. Do you know exactly how much power I generate?" I had to sell it. "I could- could . . ." I couldn't think of anything. "help you . . . ?" I said uncertain of my proposal. Help him what? _Gods, I'm so stupid._

"Yes . . ." He stroked his beard "How so?" _It worked?_I thought.

"In any way you want!" I said. Then a thought came to mind. "As long as it doesn't interfere with my fathers will." I thought that was better to say.

Hades looked concerned and sighed deeply. "I would agree, but I couldn't let you go anyway."

"Why?" I pleaded (more like whined).

He got up from his throne and began to pace. "Everyone who enters the Underworld must stay in the Underworld."

That's when Nico spoke up. "Dad, you never had that problem before. What do you mean?"

"Their soul must stay here unless instructed to come into my domain by other gods." Hades said in sorrow.

"What?" Nico was absolutely confused.

"I'm sorry Claire, but you have to stay here. It's part of the 'new requirements'." Hades threw his head into his hand.

I was completely puzzled. "What new requirements?" I questioned.

"My stupid agreement with Nemesis. I swore on the river styx that anyone who enters the Underworld must stay. She said it was only _fair_. 'If they go into the land of the dead and leave it is as if they were dead and brought back to life.'" He mimicked the goddess' voice. "She wouldn't let the subject alone until I swore. Her never ending nags and her annoying voice! Oh gods, don't ever get into trouble with that one. She can be a handful. Even more so than Persephone." He moaned.

I had to think of some excuse quick. Could a contradicting swear on the River Styx would work?

"Well, I have an idea." I proposed that I keep my soul and Hades would have me do some community service thing for the Underworld, but he didn't like that arrangement. He wanted my soul. I remembered that I was born without a soul and could survive without one. I proposed a new idea. "If I give you my soul, you have to promise not to destroy it, ever. And when I repay you, I can retrieve it." Hades agreed to this, for it seemed the only option. I couldn't very well leave with my soul, to as his rules state, so it will stay in the underworld.

The king of the Underworld reaped my soul. The moment my soul left me, I felt like becoming sad, but I couldn't. For I had no soul.

* * *

Nico shadow traveled back to the lake and we sat there again as if nothing happened. There was silence for a while.

"I'll be in the Elysium." I said. He was right, it seemed wrong talking about my death so calmly. "Or maybe I'll try for rebirth."

"Please, anything but that." He pleaded. "Do you know how long I've spent searching for my sister because of her decision?" I didn't answer. Did he care for me as much as he did for his sister? That brought me some comfort. "Promise me that you won't try for rebirth." He told me.

"I-I promise." I said to him.

Nico and I went down to the lake the next night to talk. We talked about the prophecy and who was going on it. He told me that no matter what happened that he cared for me. It made me feel so warm and fuzzy inside, I felt as if I still had my soul. That's when I heard a loud pang and felt pain in the back of my head. The last thing I saw was Nico flopped over unconscious.

* * *

**What just happened? Pain, Nico unconscious, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?**

**This chapter kind of gives you an idea of Claire's personality. Sure she may have Percy's mind, but she's beginning to develop into her own person.**

**-Eri ;)**

**Review please!**


	7. Who's going?

**Thank you confusion 123. I don't want to spoil the . . . next chapter? (I think it is) but after that on Percy has much more attention. :)**

**-Eri **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing at all. Rick Riordan is the one who was blessed with the wonderful gang of the Olympians. **

* * *

"Ugn." I moaned.

"Claire." I heard a quick whisper.

"Mmm?" I said drowsily.

"Claire!" Said a voice sharp and quiet.

"What?" I asked still in sleepy mode. "I-I . . . I'mmmm . . . tired." I began snoring again.

"Wake up Claire." I was sure it was Nico's voice whispering this time.

"Mmm?" It took all my will power to open my eyes. "Where you?" I whispered.

I was in a forest. It was about ten o'clock on the morning. I had a terrible headache. That's when I noticed that I was suspended in the air.

Upside down.

"AHHHHH-" A hand clamped over my mouth.

_"Shut UP!"_ He whispered harshly. "They'll hear you!" I pried his hand of my face.

"Who? _The Cyclopses again?"_ I asked sarcastically remembering the last encounter with those monsters.

"YES!"

"_What?_ Wait-" MY mind was still catching up on what happened. _We were at the lake . . . _ "Where are you?"

"Behind you." I noticed that we were back to backtied together hangingover a boiling pot. Then the ugly lady Cyclops came into the clearing.

"Oh good. I thought you were dead. I always like a fresh breakfast." She smiled smugly.

"I killed you!" I shouted. Two other Cyclopses came out into the clearing laughing.

"You can't kill us with fire you idiot! We are immune to it! Stupid girl . . ."

I huffed. "Man! So I burned the woods for nothing?" I harshly whispered to Nico.

"Not the most important topic right now!" He breathed back.

"No whispering you imbeciles!" Said the boy Cyclops in a gruff voice.

I narrowed my eyes at this tall creature. "Whom are you working for? Mother Gaea?" I asked.

"Gaea? Oh, that old hag? No, no, no. We work for our soon to be leader." The lady Cyclops said.

"Who?"

She replied, "Why one of the great Giantes! For now that the Doors of Death are open, he can rule this earth and overthrow your stupid parents! He will have his revenge!"

"Revenge? Wait- our parents are not stupid! They just don't think before acting upon certain situations . . ." My voice trailed. The lady just sighed.

"So," I said turning the conversation towards the Cyclops boy. _Maybe if I could just buy us some time . . ._ "What's your name?" He pointed to himself to make sure it was really him who I was talking to.

"Torque." He blushed and I smiled as sweetly as I possibly could.

"She's like the other one . . ." The lady Cyclops said with narrowed eyes- I mean eye.

"What d'ya mean Ma?" The other boy Cyclops said. The two boys actually looked very similar, brothers maybe?

"She's a progeny of Venus . . ." She grunted. The boys became very nervous. "Check for the third halfblood. He's probably around here somewhere." They began to search frantically for this third demigod.

"Who are you looking for?" I asked.

"Don't play dumb. We know that _he's _here." The woman Cyclops replied.

"Ma, I don't see 'em."

"LOOK HARDER SUMP!" Sump, the other Cyclops whimpered. I furred my eyebrows together.

"That's Torque, he's Sump. Now who are you?" I asked the one eyed lady.

"Ma Gasket! These delinquents are my sons. Now, hush." Then Torque began fumbling with something in the bushes.

"I found 'em Ma!" Ma gasket ran over to Torque ecstatically.

"That's not the boy! That's a raccoon! Leave it be." They set the raccoon free. I watched it scramble up the tree out of their reach.

_Only if I could do that! _I thought.

"I guess you're right. He's not here. But keep your eye peeled Torque." I snickered.

"Eye . . ." I breathed. It seemed pretty funny, since they're Cyclopses . . . yeah.

"You think that's funny?" Ma gasket stormed over to me. I felt Nico do a face palm behind me.

"N-no ma'am." I stuttered. She narrowed her eye at me as if to say _I'm watching you- with one eye_.

"Time for breakfast boys!" She called. She started rolling a crank. I soon found out what that crank did as Nico and I were lowered toward the pot.

"HEEEELP!" I called. "HEEEEEEEELP!" I screeched again.

"I love it when they do that." Sump nudged his brother.

We were lowing closer and closer. My long hair started to float in the water.

"Hey, before we . . . go-" Nico started.

"Stop talking like that! We will get out of this." I scolded at him.

He ignored me and continued. "I just need to tell you something. I-" And as if on cue Leo ran into the clearing.

"LEO!" I yelled.

"I'm comin'!" He yelled back.

"YOU!" Ma Gasket screeched. "Get 'em!" She stopped cranking and went after Leo herself.

"Now's our chance." I whispered to Nico. We frantically tried to untie ourselves. We couldn't do it.

Leo battled those monsters singlehandedly. I had a new, profound respect for Leo. Though, that respect didn't last that morning, much less that day.

"You don't have any explosives to play with here, boy." Torque teased.

"All you gots is a tree." The boys nudged each other and chuckled like chumps.

"A tree . . ." Leo got an idea face. "Hey uglies!" he called to them. He started dancing and pointing to himself. "Keep you '_eyes' _on the prize!" That made the Cyclopses turn red in anger. The three of them chased Leo around the trees. Leo shot fireballs at them and missed terribly. The fire kept hitting the trees and causing limbs to fall. OH! I get it. It's part of his plan . . . I'm slow.

The boy Cyclopses trapped him in the corner of the tree limbs that Leo had set up to trap _them. _

"I've got you now . . ." Sump said.

"Noooo!" I cried. Torque chuckled.

"Uhh . . ." Leo thought on his feet. "There's Lady Gaga!" Leo screamed pointing.

Sump raised his eyebrow. "We're not stupid. We know Lady Gaga isn't there." Torque said.

"Oh yeah? Then why is she making out with Justin Bieber?" The Cyclopses' eyes widened.

"Justin Bieber? Where?" They turned around and gave Leo the chance he was working towards. Ma Gasket was trying to figure a way around the logs to help her sons, but all too late.

"You ignoramuses!" She bellowed. Then they started chasing Leo again.

He had them running all around until he trapped them in a pen made of thick tree limbs.

"We can still get out boy!" Ma Gasket roared.

"Not today Mama!" He threw one last fireball at a large limb and it fell on top of the Cyclopses, which instantly turned them into gold dust. Leo came over to us and cranked us just a little lower so he could untie us. Of course Nico flipped and landed on his feet while I flopped down and hit my head on the cauldron.

"Thanks Leo. That was really brave." I kissed him on the cheek. He blushed a deep red.

"It was nothin'." He said. "How did you guys get here? The camp sent troops out looking for you." He said as he led us to the boat he used to get over here. The Argo II. Apparently the Cyclopses took us farther away than I thought.

"After the game we went down to the lake to talk then . . . I blacked out." Nico explained.

"Me too." I added. We got in the boat. Leo started it up and we soared in the air. After a while of steering Leo nudged Nico.

"I just wanted to know what you were doing with my girl." Leo said casually.

"Excuse me?" I retorted. But they ignored me.

"She's not _your _girl." Nico replied.

"I don't know if you were paying attention back there when she _kissed _me, but, uh . . . she kissed me." Leo said.

"It was on the cheek and meant as a thanks!" Nico exclaimed.

"You wish." Leo snorted.

"Now, hold on a second-" I started, but Nico interrupted me.

"You can't even date her! Her dad is also Hephaestus."

"Nu uh! That's different!"

"Yeah, huh."

"Nu uh."

"Leo, it's practically incest." Nico yelled.

"Guys-" I started but again they interrupted me.

"Not now!" They yelled.

"Nu uh."

"Yeah, huh."

"Nu uh."

"Yeah-"

"Guys! I can hear you!" They looked at me and then started whispering to each other.

"Nu uh."

"Yeah, huh."

I silently wished that we weren't that far away from Camp Jupiter so that the trip wouldn't take long.

* * *

Something was bothering me though. What Ma Gasket said . . . _She's like the other one . . . _Who was the other one? And why did she recognize Leo when he came to save us. And when Torque said '_You have no explosives to play with here boy.'_ It was all making me wonder . . .

"Hey Leo," I said. He looked back at me from the helm of the ship. "Have you met those Cyclopses before?"

"Ma Gasket and her boys?"

"_No. _The _other _Cyclopses that you just killed." I said sardonically. "What other Cyclopses would I be talking about?"

"Yeah. I beat them before. I remember it like it was yesterday . . ." He said looking off into space.

"Leo . . ." Nico snapped in his face.

"Sorry. I remember it like it was yesterday. Piper, Jason and I were on a quest last year to find Boreas, the god of the north wind. We stopped at some point in the middle of the quest so I could fix Festus, my- I mean the camp's robotic dragon. He was having some problems with glitches. We were outside a warehouse and Piper and Jason decided to explore. And after some time they didn't come back. I had a hunch that they were in trouble. So I went in and saw Piper and Jason in the same position you two were in. The whole upside down cocoon thing, except Piper had a gag over her mouth. Torque and Sump were there and were gawking at her. Of course being the brilliant guy I am, I came up with a fast plan. I did almost the same thing as I did with the trees, but instead I used the metal pipes that hung in the warehouse. They died instantly." He told.

"Oh, that's why they were looking for a third demigod. They were looking for you. To get you out of the way because you beat them the last time." Nico said.

"Ok that makes more sense." I said. I still had another question though. "Hey, who do you think their leader is? Mama G said something about a giant?"

"_Mama G?" _Leo questioned my nickname.

"_I _thought that nickname sounded pretty cool. But anyway, if the Doors of Death are open, what giant wants to come back for revenge?"

"Well, we defeated Porphyrion, Polybotes, Alcyoneus, and Enceladus." Leo named off. "Not _we, _but the other demigods. Those Giantes have to still be reforming . . . Who else though?" Leo asked. Nico and I shrugged. Then Leo took out a gold drachma.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Well, I think we should iris message Chiron and tell him that you guys are safe."

"Good idea." Leo took a spray bottle that he kept just for iris messages and began pumping the handle. He threw in the coin.

"Goddess, please accept my offering." He whispered. It took a while to work and it looked like Leo's hand would just break off. Soon enough, Chiron's horse body appeared in the droplets of water. He was in a big crowd- no in a meeting with the senate of Camp Jupiter.

"If they don't come back before tomorrow, I don't kno-" He stopped and saw us. "Ah, here they are. Where were you two?" He looked at Nico suspiciously.

"Cyclopses captured them." Leo said. "I came to the rescue."

"Cyclopses?" The whole crowd in the meeting gasped and began whispering to each other.

"Yeah, we're okay though." I assured. I noticed that the spray bottle was now half full. "We just wanted to let you know that we're fine and will be back soon." I said.

"Actually we are a few hours away." Leo said. What the frackle?

"_Hours?" _Nico and I said in unison.

"Yeah, I took chances of going out this far from camp, but had a hunch you guys were distant." He explained. "So we'll be back after the campfire."

"Alright, I guess I'll have to ask Reyna if she's got a guest house for centaurs since you've got my bedroom . . . Please travel safe. I'm taking specifically to you, Leo." He swiped his hand through the mist and the message was disconnected.

* * *

Leo was right. It did take a few hours to get back to camp. When we got there we could hear snoring from the cohorts. Everyone was in bed. I stumbled off the ship sleepy and Nico guided me to the fifth cohort. Leo left us and said he was going to let Chiron know that we made it back safe and sound.

I got under my covers and drifted off into a mindless sleep. Oh, and did I mention it was also dreamless? I didn't have any disturbances from that freak Gaea or any other gods and goddesses. I was in _heaven! _

I woke up to excited yelling from the fifth cohort.

"They're back!-"

"What happened to you guys?-"

"I'm so glad you are safe!-" (That one was Hazel)

"How did you find your way back?-" And a round of hugs were showered on Nico and me. How did I respond you ask?

I yelled.

"Go away! I just got into my bed not even a freakin' hour ago!" I pulled the sheets over my head and tried to drown out their noises. Apparently Nico was just fine. I guess he was so used to the lack of sleep from shadow traveling, so he explained our fun adventure and how Leo came to save us.

"They won't be dead for long though." He talked about the Cyclopses. That statement got me awake.

"What do you mean?" I sat up drowsily.

"Because the Doors of Death are still open, it is easier for them to reform. I can feel it. They are escaping my father's kingdom already." He shuddered. I gulped.

"You've got to be kidding me." Dakota sighed.

"I can feel it too . . ." Hazel said.

"Alright, the important thing is that you are both safe." Percy seemed even more tired than I was. _He was worried about me_. "Rachel is going to name the demigods who are to go on this quest at noon today. So we've got . . ." Percy looked at his watch. "Four hours. Let's get going."

I climbed back under my covers and started drifting off to sleep when I felt Percy's hands grab around my ankles. He pried me away from my warm, comfortable haven. I held onto the metal bars at the head of my bed until I felt that my arms were going to be torn off.

"ALRIGHT! I'M UP!" I yelled. I got up and rubbed my eyes. I was _so_ tired. Percy pulled me aside.

"Claire, can I talk to you?"

* * *

We went behind the cohort to talk privately. "You really had me worried." He confessed.

"I didn't mean to." I explained. "Nico and I were just talking by the lake and suddenly we were tied together upside down."

He glanced back at the cohort. "Look, I need to keep you safe. I don't want you hanging around with Nico as much, okay?"

I smirked. "First off,_ I'm the one who's supposed to be you safe." _I furrowed my brows. "And what does Nico have to do with this?"

"Nico and I have some . . . trust issues, okay? I'm just saying to be on your guard, seriously." He touched my elbow and stared me in the eyes. "Promise me?"

"What is with promises!" I laughed. "First Hades, Nico and now you?"

He looked confused. "Just promise me okay? I'd feel better if you were safe."

"Why are you being so protective all of a sudden?" I placed my hands on my hips.

"Dad was right. You're a demigod, not a _thing."_

"Thanks for noticing." I joked.

He paused for a moment. "How- how do you just . . . take all of this in?" He asked.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. "I don't." I admitted. "I'm kind of just living at the moment and my mind keeps pushing the thought of death farther and farther away."

He pursed his lips. "Huh. For some reason, I just can't wrap my mind around all of this." I could tell her was still in the 'confused' stage. "Anyway . . . just stay away from Di Angelo, okay?"

I nodded, but I really didn't promise anything.

* * *

We all went to breakfast, but instead of eating my food, I used it as a pillow. I didn't mean to, I was just so tired my head flopped onto my morning muffin. It was comfortable anyway.

I woke up to Rachel nudging me. She laughed as she wiped the blueberry muffin off my face. Then I realized that we were the only ones in the dining pavilion.

"Come on," She said. "You slept through breakfast and none of your friends wanted to wake you."

"Oh, so they decided to embarrass me instead?" I asked.

"Pretty much." We laughed. "Time for sword training. Chiron's already mad that we're late."

"Okay." I followed her into the coliseum.

_We probably missed the training session, but it wouldn't hurt to cheer our fellow demigods on. Right? _

Wrong.

We walked in . . .

It turns out that Clarisse was up. With no one to fight.

"Can I pick her?" Clarisse pointed to Rachel. Rachel's eyes widened and her whole body tensed up. A smile crept on Clarisse's face.

"No." Reyna said. "Why would you hurt your only Oracle?"

"Hmm. Right. How about you." She grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. I gulped. I had to be brave though. I wouldn't give her the satisfaction of my fear. We were nose to nose. And suddenly, a surge of power jolted my body into awake mode.

"Aw, Come on Clarisse! Leave her alone." Nico yelled to her.

"Fight me, I dare you." I said through my clenched jaw. I was so ready to pound her into dust. She dropped me.

"Need a weapon?" She smirked.

"Got one." I pulled out my pen.

"No," She whispered. I uncapped it. Out came Riptide number two. Campers in the stands 'ooh'ed. I looked for Percy, but I couldn't find him. I could just imagine the expression on his face.

"You do remember who you're fighting, right?" I smiled. "I know all of Percy's moves." I threw on the armor Chris Rodriguez passed me. 'You're going to need it.' He told me. We started circling each other like wrestlers do in matches.

"Psh. I could beat Prissy any day." She charged at me. I side stepped. She missed me, by a lot. She shook her head as if she was shaking off the bad luck, and took after me again. Maimer, her electrified spear, almost got me. Luckily my sword was in my right hand and I was able to block her! This went of for a while. Her stabbing at me. And me dodging the stabs.

Soon enough she knocked my helmet off. I whimpered out loud, which wasn't the right choice. That gave Clarisse encouragement. Next she went for my legs. I jumped.

Yeah, jumped right into her clutches! As I was in the air, she grabbed me by the back of my shirt and threw me across the arena.

_ Umph! Eww! _A pile of dirt went straight into my mouth. I got up shakily. My sword slid right out of my hand and was just a few feet from me.

_Man that girl can fight! It seemed easier when Percy defeated her._

I tapped into Percy's memories and saw the first battle with Clarisse. He defeated her by using the river at Camp Half Blood as strength.

_No water around here..._

I spit the dirt out. Disgusting!

_I've got to use my power somehow._ I thought. _Dirt! That's it!_

_Poseidon was god of the sea. And he was the earth shaker! Maybe . . ._

I stumbled to get my sword.

"Wimp! Come on. Give it to me." She called to me. I grabbed Anaklusmos II and ran after her. She took a ready stance, but before I reached her I stopped abruptly and plunged my sword into he ground. The arena rippled. The ground flew up in the air and Clarisse was knocked down. The crowd cheered. Her helmet was knocked off and, wait- where was Maimer? I looked up and saw the electrified spear hurtling towards me. I guess I shook the ground . . . too hard?

Black out-

* * *

You guessed right, another dream. This time I was in the throne room of Olympus in the Empire State building. Oh, and did I mention that fifty foot Apollo was here?

He was tall, tan and handsome. His muscles were mighty fine. His eyes were a melted caramel brown swirled with a dark chocolate color. His hair was filled with tight curls that framed his face perfectly. I felt as if he stepped an inch closer to me I would've melted into a puddle of Claire. Though I knew I wouldn't because the only thing that stood out to me more than his hot appearance was his deep scowl. His beautiful eyes were filled with fiery hatred from the sun.

'Hey kid.' He said

'Um, hi.' My eyes darted around the throne room to avoid his own.

'My sources have told me that you have uncovered the secret prophecy.' He eyed me. '_My _secret prophecy.' He crossed his well-toned arms.

'Yes.' I managed to squeak out.

'Do you understand the meaning of _secret_? Not only was that reveled to everyone, but now I have to make sure that the Oracle can name all of the demigods meant for this quest!' He said louder than needed. I tried to look innocent, but I bet I looked as guilty as ever. I finally looked in his eyes. I almost peed myself in fear of him killing me with a drop of his powerful sun. 'Never mind,' He continued. 'Poseidon didn't understand 'secret' either. Otherwise he wouldn't have told you.'

'I'm sorry sir.' I started to cry. _Why did I even help Octavian? I knew his ritual was completely wrong and unnatural to do. We should've just waited until the Oracle spoke through Rachel. _I thought

'Aw, look. I hate it when pretty girls cry.' He came down to regular size and walked over to me. 'Some things are supposed to stay secret though.' He huffed. I realized that I was crying. I didn't know why. But somewhere inside me I knew that those tears were ones that I had held in, ones from my stupid mistakes and unforgiving consequences.

'No, it's not that. Life is . . . hard for me right now. I'm sorry for crying . . . I'm just learning as I go.'

'You're the, uhh, 'Hepheastus made' demigod right?'

'Yeah . . .' I mumbled.

The god broke into a pearly white grin. 'That's awesome! What not to like about that?' He said trying to lift my spirits. His eyes brightened up and his brilliant teeth were framed by those beautiful lips. It was the most handsome expression I had ever seen.

'Demigods are different. A special kind of different, but when you're a _different_ demigod . . . well things just get plain weird.' I explained. I tried not to stare at the god before me. I mean, seriously it was hard to do.

'Heh, that's like Dionysus. He was a demigod, remember? Hera was jealous and killed Dionysus' mom.'

'Zeus tried to keep him alive right?'

'Yeah, it was a strange procedure. We had to cut open Zeus' calf and stick baby Dionysus in there. I helped being the god of healing.' He said with a bit of pride. 'So you're not the _only_ odd one out.'

'Thanks.' I said.

Apollo slapped his hands together. 'Man, I am just too nice! I meant to come to you to yell at you about exposing the secret prophecy. I just can't yell at pretty girls!' He scolded himself. I blushed a bit.

'Well, thanks for the self esteem boost.' I said trying not to sound stupid in front of this hot god.

'No prob kid. Oh, and watch out for those Cyclopses you encountered the other day. Your demigod scent makes their mouth water from miles away. Good luck!' He flashed out of there leaving behind a scroll. I picked it up. Inside was a haiku. Predictable.

_Always be yourself_

_You are an original._

_-From the awesome god._

I stuck it in my pocket to always remember that wonderful encounter with that god. Reading it made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Sort of like a mini sun was warming my heart.

* * *

I woke up in the back in the arena.

"Ugh. Why do I smell burnt enchiladas?" I mumbled.

I opened my eyes to a group of demigods looking over me. Wait. I was on the ground . . . Why was I on the ground again? I sat up. They all sighed in relief.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Let's just say, Maimer's electric current doesn't go well with you being a daughter of Poseidon." Clarisse said. She hoisted me up. "You okay?"

"I guess so . . ."

"I didn't mean to hurt you. It was just some friendly competition. Right?"

"Yeah. _Sure_." I felt light headed and dizzy.

"Y-you fried her." Percy stammered. He took me in his arms and gave me a light hug.

"What?" I asked. Percy took a piece of my hair and showed me. Burnt. Great.

"I didn't mean to and you know it." Clarisse glared at him. "Good practice though." She clapped me on the back and walked off. So did most of the crowd. I guess sword training is over now . . .

_Practice? Ugh. I feel like Apollo attached me to the end of his sun chariot and watched me burn the whole day, and then had Zeus struck me with his master bolt. And again I say, practice?_

"Come on Claire, let's get you cleaned up." Percy said as he walked me over to the washrooms. "Jeez. Clarisse can be quite the . . . girl." He said trying not to laugh, which I had to laugh at. Then we cracked up together.

"Thanks Percy. I'll get cleaned up and meet you guys at lunch."

"Okay. Hopefully we'll get this whole 'secret prophecy' thing sorted out."

"I hope so too . . ." I said. He left me to clean up.

I splashed water on my face and scrubbed it really hard.

"Ugh. Why do I seem to be a trouble magnet?" I asked myself. I looked in the mirror and saw the singed pieces of hair framing my face. I thought for a moment.

_Maybe if I soak my hair. _I tried it and nothing happened. Oh well. I combed it with me fingers and pulled it into a ponytail. Better-ish? Pht. Better-ish isn't even a word. I'm loosing my mind.

I did the best I could to look presentable. I opened the door to see Annabeth panting.

"Been lookin' . . . for you . . . Rachel . . . names . . . the quest." She was out of breath from running. I still got the message.

"Now?" Annabeth nodded yes. I followed her as we sprinted across the campground. There was a crowd around Rachel right outside the coliseum.

* * *

We got there just in time. Rachel's eyes glowed and the familiar green smoke poured out of her mouth.

_"Seven halfbloods shall answer the call_

_ to storm of fire the world must fall_

_ Jason, Piper, and Leo-" _

_ This was it! This is where my purpose in life is reveled to me!_ I thought.

_"Are the first three to go._

_ Hazel, Frank and Annabeth_

_ shall help to close the doors of death_

_ The last halfblood is half of a pair_

_ The demigod that shall save us all is-" _Something went wrong Rachel. Her eyes changed back to normal then back to glowing as if the Oracle was fighting with her for dominance. Her eyes glowed one last time and she spoke _"Perseus."_

* * *

**So that's all for this chapter. I know . . . short. It's not as short as some stories out there, but this is short for me. hehe. Well have a good weekend everyone!**

**-Eri ;)**


	8. Fly on a Wall

**Hey guys. Thank you for the ****reviews!**

**I am so excited. I started this fanfic in December just for fun. Then I got so anxious for the Mark of Athena I went online searching for fun little drawings/ stories to keep me occupied and that's how I found out about ! I basically was amazed at how many stories were told about my favorite series (PJ and the Os). I contemplated on posting my story on here for months and I'm so happy I even got up to this point!**

**-Eri**

**Disclaimer: 'R' squared is da man! . . . who owns this series.**

* * *

Chapter 8

"P-Perseus?" I questioned shocked. I looked at my brother who smiled halfheartedly. "Percy? It can't possibly be Percy . . ." My voice trickled out of my mouth like a stream.

Rachel's eyes stopped glowing and turned back to normal. "What happened?" She asked confused. "Who did the Oracle of Delphi list?"

Everything got quiet. So silent you could hear only the breaths of the campers.

I stared at my feet and scrunched my nose. I felt hot prickly tears back up in behind my eye sockets. "I'm supposed to go. It's my destiny . . ." I whimpered.

Annabeth looked at me so sympathetically, it seemed as if she actually cared.

Murmurs were sent throughout the mass of demigods as Chiron clopped up behind me. "The Oracle has spoken." He turned his attention to the _chosen ones. _"Annabeth, Piper, Jason, Leo, Frank, Hazel and Percy, please go and pack for you are all leaving this evening."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

_I'm not going? This is a nightmare, that's it. I'm sleeping. _I thought of every excuse for the prophecy to be one big lie, but I knew, deep inside, all that was happening was true. Chiron noticed my struggle in my processing all of this. "You can stay and protect the camps with us." He attempted to lift my spirits, but to tell the truth, nothing would help me at this point.

"Yeah, you're a great defender." Nico also tried to cheer me up.

_Something must be wrong. My whole life is about this quest. I'm supposed to protect Percy. How am I to do that if he throws himself at danger? My dad is going to kill me if anything happens to Percy._

"No, I have to- to- Look, I can't just-" I couldn't finish my sentences because nothing came to mind.

Those thousand year old eyes parted from mine. "Alright demigods. Pack your essentials and be ready to leave for your quest. The Argo II must leave at four tonight." Chiron instructed the seven.

* * *

I went back to the fifth cohort with Hazel, Frank and Percy to say goodbye to them as they packed. Well, those were my intentions anyway. I actually just sat on my bed with a pout permanently painted on my face.

Go ahead and call me a sore loser or whatever, but wouldn't _you _be disappointed?

"It's okay Claire." Hazel said sticking her camp Jupiter shirts in her backpack. "We'll be fine." She assured. I continued pouting.

I knew that Percy could handle himself out there, but prophecies _always _come true. Not always in the way that you think they might, but this one, this dreadful prophecy, is very specific. There is no way getting around it.

One of us is going to die.

Each of the demigods of the fifth cohort came up to me to say goodbye. I felt terrible because I didn't hug them back or even acknowledge that they were there. But as soon as they left the cohort I darted after them.

I ran up behind Percy and hugged him from behind and whispered over his shoulder, "Good luck."

"Thanks." He whispered back.

Nico, Dakota and I followed them to the Argo II. I said goodbye to Piper and Jason. Then there was Leo . . .

"Don't worry, I'll be back safe. I'll come back for you." At that moment I thought of Leo being a guy in one of those cheesy soap operas. He hugged me for a long time. So long it became awkward. I looked over to Nico who was about to burst into tears of laughter.

"Alright, Leo. Don't die." I commanded. He smiled at me and leaned in for a peck on the cheek. I dodged it by pretending to tie my shoe (which by the way, was a flip-flop).

Next I said goodbye to Annabeth. I pulled her aside. "Bye Annabeth. You're going to do great on this quest." I smiled. I was getting used to the fact that I wasn't going to go no matter what and I was actually . . . happy for her. Hey, there's a first time for everything!

"No, we're not." She replied. I was confused. She was never pessimistic.

I touched her shoulder. "Don't be like that-" I started.

"No, you have to be there with us. I just know it. I've got a . . . hunch and when a daughter of Athena knows something, she _knows _something."

I smirked at her. "Okay Annabeth, whatever you say."

She studied my eyes as if looking into my soul, searching for my feelings. "You want to come with us, right?"

I looked at the others saying their goodbyes. "Annabeth, you and I both know there's nothing that I can do-"

"_Right?"_

"Yes." I admitted. She looked worried. She glanced around us to make sure that no one was looking.

She slipped out a Yankees cap from her bag. "Take it. Follow me on board. We can't let Percy die." I took the cap with anxiety crawling up my throat. We were actually going to lie to the gods and everyone else, disobey the Oracle, disobey Apollo, and most importantly go against the Fates' will.

"I-I can't." I gave the magic cap back to her.

She rolled her eyes. "Just take it." She shoved it at me.

"No." Shove!

"Yes!" Shove!

"NO!" I threw it at her

"Take it!" She threw it at me.

"Take it back!" Shove!

"Put the freaking cap on, Claire!" She struggled to put it on my head when she froze in midair. She gasped. "Someone's coming!"

I threw the cap on.

It turned out to be Octavian. "You okay . . . Annabeth?" He must have heard the screaming and grunting.

Annabeth leaned her arm on the tree next to us in a very awkward way. "Psh, me? Oh yeah, I'm a-okay! Perfectly fine! Never been better." Her eyes gave away the truth, all of it. "Er, do you need something?" She plastered an obviously fake smile on her face. Wow. She was really bad under pressure.

"Okay . . . Chiron said to get you. So . . . come on." We followed Octavian.

_Awesome-sauce! I'm invisible! So cool. _I looked down at my clear body creating a funny feeling within my stomach, nervousness.

Over by the side of the ship I saw Percy and Nico in a heated discussion. "-understand me?" Percy asked sternly.

"I didn't do anything, Percy. I won't _admit_ to anything." Nico gave my brother one of his death stares. He's really good at those.

"Of course you did. I could tell by the _prophecy _that _you_ did it."

Nico tried his best to look innocent, but I knew him better than that. What could he be holding in? The two boys just glared at each other. "You can't prove a thing." The son of Hades growled.

"Look, I'll keep it a secret, okay? Nothing's going to slip out," Percy did that lock and key gesture and tossed his hand into the air. "but you have to promise me that you won't go near _her_. You don't know what _she's _capable of." My brother warned.

Chiron blew a horn.

Nico looked at him with those fierce eyes. "Fine."

* * *

"Good luck heroes!" Chiron called and I followed Annabeth on board. All of us stomped up the ramp and it was taken away as we flew up into the air.

_I can't believe I actually did this!_

_I can't believe I actually did this . . ._

_What will Percy say? What will Chiron say . . ._

_Will the camp come looking for me?_

_Will Nico come looking for me?_

_What have I done . . ._

My thoughts kept contradicting my true feelings. I was so happy I was finally on my first quest!

I sat on a ledge on the deck of the ship. The chosen demigods were all sitting on the benches talking about their plan.

Hazel suggested that they should find Thantos, the keeper of the Doors of Death, and demand that he tell them where the doors of death are. Hazel said that the Doors of Death always move. It moves sporadically around in the underworld. Thantos would have no idea where they are, since he lost them last year.

Percy suggested that we travel on the ground and come across Gaea and somehow weasel the coordinates out of her. No wonder everyone calls him _Seaweed Brain! _I had the urge to smack him right there! But of course, that would've blown my cover.

They all kept throwing out really bad ideas. And I mean _really _bad. Leo thought it would be good if we tried to die ourselves and then we would be at the doors of death. Frank and Annabeth seemed like the only ones who knew what they were doing, being the children of war gods, they were great strategists.

* * *

The demigods went in the bottom part of the boat for dinner. I followed the Athena child close behind and slipped in through the door before it closed on me.

I admit, Leo was pretty smart . . . for Leo. This ship he designed had a cafeteria like room that had a salad bar and homemade soups and turkey subs if you wanted. All you'd have to do is punch in your meal that you wanted into a little touch screen computer and it came out on a conveyor belt. It was pretty awesome.

I was disappointed when I realized I couldn't have any. The halfbloods all got their food and sat around a table and told each other about who they are and what their favorite color is, their age, where they live, and all that fun introductory stuff.

I was actually glad I wasn't there. I have nothing to tell. Where do I live?_ Uhh . . ._ What's your favorite color? _Uhh . . ._ How old are you? _Oh! I know this one! Four weeks, five days and fourteen hours!_ Pathetic, right?

"You start Percy." Annabeth smiled at him.

He cleared his throat. "Well, My name is Perseus Jackson. My dad is Poseidon. I'm eighteen in August. My favorite color is blue. I live in Manhattan New York in an apartment with my mom and step-dad. Hm . . . I like to swim."

"_No. Really?"_ Frank asked sardonically.

"Ha ha." He slowly said sounding serious. "Well, anyway. I have a half brother, Tyson, who is a Cyclops. And now, as you all know, a half sister, Claire." He didn't sound to enthusiastic. "In my entire life I've been on six quests not including this one." The group 'wow'ed at this comment.

"Psh. Two you weren't even invited on, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth reminded him and my brother just blushed.

Percy's face became redder as he continued. "I'm not the smartest person which is why Annabeth, my girlfriend, calls me Seaweed Brain sometimes . . . But I can be pretty clever. Especially with my sword Riptide." He smirked that signature smirk of his. "Now," He looked around the table. "Jason, your turn."

"My name is Jason Grace. My dad is Jupiter. I'm sixteen. My home? Hm . . . I guess my home is camp. I grew up in Camp Jupiter. Thalia, my sister, explained everything to me. See, Thalia was born from the Greek form, Zeus and I was born from the Roman form, Jupiter. And we all know that Romans and Greeks can't really get along nicely." A bunch of nods went around the room. "So my mother put me in the care of Lupa, the roman camp director, and camp has been my home ever since. Hmm . . . my favorite color is green. I love flying, my weapon is a lance, and this would be my seventh quest, like Percy." Percy's pride dissolved right there. "I'd like to get to know Frank." Jason said giving Frank an introduction.

"Typical. Boys always pick boys." Piper rolled her eyes.

"We are not _boys_." Jason countered. "We are men."

"Sure." Piper shook her head.

"Okay. Hi, my name is Frank Zhang. My dad is Ares, unfortunately. My favorite color is orange. I live- I mean used to live, with my grandmother." Everyone looked at him sadly. "Now I live at camp. I'm fifteen. I . . . Oh! I can shape shift!" Another round of 'wow's went around the room. "Yeah, it's cool, sometimes. Not when your life depends on a toothpick, though." His smile disappeared.

"What?" Annabeth and Leo asked simultaneously.

Frank searched for the words to say. "I have this . . . What do you call it?" He looked at Hazel. "A curse? Definitely not a blessing. Let's just say I was cursed. Gaea told my mother and grandmother when I was really young that my life depended on a log in the fireplace. If it burned down all the way, I will be gone also, dead." Silence filled the room. "To free Thantos last year, I had to use my 'life stick' to melt away his chains. Now it's the size of a toothpick." He nudged Hazel and she pulled out a little twig from her pocket. "I only trust Hazel with it." We all crouched closer to look at the toothpick of life. I felt bad for Frank. Even though I knew I was going to die, I felt luckier than him. At least I wouldn't have to be worried _how_ I was going to die like him. He must always be paranoid about it.

"Umm, why don't you go Piper," Frank said.

She grinned a beautiful smile at him. "Thanks. My name is Piper McLean. My mom is Aphrodite. I live with my dad, Tristan McLean-"

"OH MY GODS! Your dad is _the _Tristan Mclean?" Frank asked. "He's a MOVIE STAR! He is, like-" He stopped realizing his rambling. Piper just stared at him. Percy just looked at Annabeth with a raised eyebrow. "Uhh . . . nevermind . . ." He blushed a deep red.

"Yeah. My dad is _the _Tristan McLean." She said and she stared at Frank who was getting redder by the moment. "I'm fifteen, my favorite color is purple, my favorite little assistant is Katoptris, my dagger," She beamed at the shiny dagger she held out for show and tell. "and last year I found out that everything I thought was real about my life isn't." I felt like saying 'Welcome to the club.'

"So your dad isn't a movie star?" Hazel inquired.

"No, he really is my dad. What I meant was-" She looked at Jason. "Hera made me believe that Jason and I were dating, a special trick with the Mist thing. She did it so that we would work together on last year's quest." She tugged on her braids anxiously. "Everything was really confusing for me for a while, but now I'm okay." She smiled at Jason. "You go, Leo."

He turned and his dark curls shook. "Thanks, Beauty Queen. My name is Leo Valdez, but you may call me Supreme Captain of the Argo II while we're on this hunk of pure awesomeness."

Annabeth and Piper rolled their eyes, but Hazel seemed very interested in what Leo had to say. "My dad is Hephaestus and I am one of the few of his children that can do this." He snapped his fingers and pointed his index finger to the sky. On the tip of his finger danced a flame.

Frank backed up as fast as possible. Well, he tried to anyway. He stumbled on a few chairs. "Oh, sorry." Leo blew out the flame, but Frank was still uneasy.

"I live at Camp Half Blood now because no other boarding school will take me." The group laughed because they all know what that feels like. "I'm fourteen soon to be fifteen. Actually my birthday is in a few weeks. And that's about it- Wait! I almost forgot about my tool belt." He yanked his tool belt from his pants. "This right here is my weapon. It carries all the tools anyone could think of. Well, tools of this size anyway." He pulled out hammers and screwdrivers and nails. He had lots of bolts, a saw and some pliers. It was magical.

As he dropped the nuts, bolts and other things back into his pouch Hazel raised her hand. "I have a question." Hazel said.

"Yes?"

"Do-" She bit her lip. "I mean, did-" She sighed. "Are you related to a Samuel Valdez?"

Leo's eyebrows shot up. "Uh, he's like my great uncle. Why?" Hazel's face became hard to read.

Was she excited? Scared? Upset? Angry? No one could tell. Especially when her answer was as simple as, "Oh nothing."

"I pick . . . Annabeth." Leo said.

She swiped her blonde curly bangs to the side of her face revealing her intriguing gray eyes. "My name is Annabeth Chase. My mother is Athena. I am seventeen and I live with my dad and step-mom in San Fransisco. I used to live at Camp Half Blood year round until someone told me that I should give living with my parents another chance." She smiled at Percy. "My favorite color is purple also and I like to use me little dagger here. I am the official architect of Olympus and the present owner of Daedalus' laptop." She took out her weapon and quickly put it back in it's place, attached to the band around her arm. "Now, Haze-"

"Annabeth!" Percy interrupted. "Tell them _your _story." Annabeth blushed and sighed.

She looked at him with such an expression it was hard for him to stare back. "Okay," She gave in. "When I was young I ran away from my home because of family troubles –like we all have. I ran into monsters everywhere I went, not knowing who or what I was. I fought them with just my fists and a hammer basically. That's when I met up with other 'strange' kids like myself who had also run away. One of them is Thalia, Jason's sister. The other-" She looked lost in memory. "The other was Luke Castellan.

"The three of us- we were all one big happy family. We'd go out and take monsters head on. We traveled around for several years jumping from hideout to hideout. I thought it was the best time of my life at that age." She started slowing down and really thinking about her next choice of words.

"We found our way to Camp Half Blood and were all very happy. That is until four years ago. Luke secretly decided to team up with Kronos. It was the year Percy came to camp. Luke sabotaged our quest and almost killed Percy . . . twice.

"Not even just two years ago, he gave his body up to Kronos as a host. I had lost him." I was surprised that she wasn't crying. From what Percy's memories show, she couldn't even talk about Luke without getting all teary eyed. "He was good in the end though. He destroyed Kronos, for now, by killing himself." And I saw a tear drop from her eye, but she smiled. "That's my story. Now as I was saying," She wiped her cheek from her tear. "Hazel, tell us about yourself."

"Well, I can't top _that._" She said and everyone softly laughed as not to offend Annabeth. "My name is Hazel Levesque. I am a daughter of Pluto. I am sort of fifteen. And I will warn you now, I am cursed. Wherever I go, jewels pop up. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sometimes gold. But if you pick them up, your life is cursed." Everyone looked scared now. "Don't worry, as long as you leave them alone the curse won't bother you. The reason why that happens is because unlike Nico, I don't have power over dead people, but I have power over the wealth in the underworld. I can bend and shape precious metals with my power. So yeah, watch out . . ."

"Wait- Go back. What do you mean sort of fifteen?" Leo asked.

"Well, I lived about seventy five years ago."

Silence.

"You see," She sighed. Apparently Frank knows this story so he patted her shoulder and said she didn't have to tell it, but she insisted. "When I was younger, my mother became possessed by Gaea."

More silence.

"Gaea wanted me to use my powers to-" She bit her lip. "To raise Gaea's so,n Alcyoneus. I did too. Not the whole way. I raised most of him, but I realized that what I was doing was wrong so in the end I stopped helping Gaea. As a consequence she caused an earthquake to crash down on my mother and me. It killed us. Of course my mother would receive the fields of Punishment for her acts, so I bore her wrongdoings on me and we divided it up so that we both ended in the fields of Asphodel."

So many eyes were staring at her intently wanting her to keep going and never stop with this tragic story. "When the Doors of Death were opened Nico came into the underworld looking for his sister. He saw me and I told him that I was a daughter of Pluto also so he rescued me and brought me back into this new and complicated world of yours. You know, everything was a whole lot simpler back when computers and touch screens didn't exist."

All of us sat in awe. "Wow, how come your dad didn't come to help you?" Jason asked.

"My mom and him got into a fight. She was greedy for certain things that only Gaea would give her. So, she decided that we should leave him and we went to a place were he could never touch us. No gods could ever touch us."

"Alaska . . ." Annabeth realized.

"Yes. Alaska, the land beyond the gods." Hazel sighed. She ran her hands through her dark curly hair. "It's all over now. Everything is okay." She smiled. They talked the rest of the night about how different the two camps were and which god and goddess they thought was the most annoying. Everyone agreed that it was between Hera and Gaea since Gaea is 'technically' called a goddess.

It started getting late. Percy yawned. "Alright, we can't think straight if we are sleep deprived. Let's talk in the morning." They all nodded their tired heads in agreement.

* * *

I followed Annabeth into her cabin. As soon as she shut the door I took off the cap.

"Oh gods!" She put her hand to her chest. "I completely forgot you were here."

"Yeah. I actually forgot that I was invisible. It's like . . . being a fly on a wall." I said. "So I guess that means that I was hid well then, huh?" I whispered. She nodded. "Can I sleep in your room?"

"Of course. Where else would you?" She passed me a pillow and a blanket and I slept on the floor. It reminded me of the countless nights Nico and I spent out on the hard sand looking up at the stars. And that's how my dream began.

* * *

I was at Camp Jupiter and Camp Half Blood somehow moved the thousands of miles across the ocean to be placed right next to the other camp. Everything was the same about them though. The same demigods and friends. The beautiful cabins and cohorts shining as if they were just cleaned for inspection. Something was different.A strange vibe was radiating off of them.

I stood about a good distance away from the two camps as I saw them simultaneously burst into flames. The demigods ran screaming and panicking. Then off farther to my right I saw the Argo II come in for landing. Annabeth and the group piled off and ran to save the camps. All left the ship that is except Percy. As soon as his feet touched the ground Gaea appeared and battled him. And to tell you the truth, Gaea was a dirty fighter. Get it? She's covered in dirt? Bad joke. But she seriously was pretty nasty. She locked Percy's feet to the ground and threw rocks at him. No one stones my brother! I started for Percy when the roof caved in at the Big House at Camp Half Blood. Soon the Senate House's walls were pealing. I heard screams of terror and cries of pain. I love my friends. I love Percy. How can I make a choice like this?

I stood paralyzed watching my life burn before me. I decided. Rescue Percy. I ran to him and fought Gaea. We battled and I weakened at a certain yell that sounded as if it came from Nico. But I continued on and won. She was defeated, Percy was safe. My camps were gone. All that was left was fire and people lying around in it. It made me sick. At least I saved my brother and didn't go against my father. Right? Would it be worth it if I saved only Percy and not my friends in real life? I just sure hope I never have to make that decision.

* * *

I woke up to Annabeth struggling to put the cap on my head. "Just five more minutes." I moaned.

"Uh, no! Percy's coming here any second!" With that I tugged the cap on and threw off the blankets. There was a knock at the door.

"Annabeth? You awake?" Percy's voice muffled through the door.

"Yup, just making the bed." Annabeth said as she threw my pillow and blanket on the bed as not to rise suspicion of my sleeping there. Percy opened the door.

"Seriously Annabeth. You know that Leo's not going to make us do cabin inspection." He said with a big goofy grin.

"Well, you never know!" She replied.

He went over to her and helped her anyway. "So," He lifted the sheet with her. "Did you think of a plan yet?"

"No," She replied softly.

"Me neither. I've had a restless night just thinking about this stuff." They finished tucking in the sheet and he went over to her and kissed her. It was _so _sweet! Then he broke the kiss and hugged her and rubbed her back. "Don't worry. We'll figure something out, Wise Girl. Everything will turn out fine like it always does." He grinned at her and they walked out of the cabin arm in arm.

* * *

I silently opened the door and slipped out into the kitchen where everyone was eating breakfast. The smell of sausage and scrambled eggs overwhelmed my nose. I was starving. Then my stomach growled.

"Wow, someone's hungry." Jason said patting Percy's stomach thinking that it was his intestines making the borborygmic noise. Percy just looked confused but ignored it.

Annabeth got a plate of sausage, scrambled eggs with catsup, a blueberry muffin and orange juice. I don't like my eggs with catsup. It ruins the whole savory taste of the egg! I liked everything else though. I saw her, very subtle, stuff the blueberry muffin in her pocket. Obviously for me when she reached her cabin later. My mouth was watering and my mind became fuzzy with thoughts of pancakes. But I was conscious enough to understand their conversation.

Leo told everyone about our encounter with Ma Gasket and her boys. He told them what she said about the greater leader looking for revenge. Annabeth decided that she would look up the Giantes on Daedalus' laptop. He had a whole file on them and which were terminated already and reforming. Porphyrion, Polybotes, Alcyoneus, and Enceladus were defeated. Ephialtes, Eurytos, Klytios, Mimas, Pallas, Hippolytos, Aigaion, Agrios, and Thoon were all still slumbering, waiting to be awakened, but perhaps not. Maybe one of them has awakened and is out for revenge.

After breakfast I followed Annabeth back to the room and she gave me the muffin. I scarfed it down like a dog. I didn't care though. I was starving.

"Mmmm. Thanks. That really hit the spot." I rubbed my stomach in exaggeration. Annabeth snorted.

"Well, I'll try to sneak food to you as often as I can. But you have to stay hid. Here are the rules for using my hat." She said counting out the rules on her fingers. "One: Don't loose it. Two: Never take it off unless you're in this room or if it is an urgent situation. Three: Never forget that you have it on. I did that once and I completely blew my cover. I figured out that people can't see you when you're walking and you have to dodge them. Rule four: Don't leave the ship."

"But-"

"No buts. Percy will personally kill me if I loose his only sister. He's already going to punish me for letting you on this quest!" She pointed at me.

"No he won't. He couldn't care less about me." I said.

"He does. He just doesn't . . . er, show it." She said sympathetically. _Thanks Annabeth I feel so much better now. Not._

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever-" I said annoyed.

"Hey Annabeth?" The door swung open. I tugged the cap on. _Whew! Piper didn't see me._

"Y-yes?" Annabeth replied nervously.

'We're having a meeting down in the living room. Jason and I are rounding everyone up." Piper said in that cute little voice of hers.

"Oh, okay. I'll be down in a bit." Annabeth said.

"Will you come with me?" Piper pleaded.

"Oh, well . . ."

"Come on." Piper insisted. She grabbed Annabeth's elbow and pulled her out onto the deck.

* * *

It seemed hours before Annabeth came back. So I just chilled in the room. I kept the door open to hear if someone was coming. I laid on the bed with the magic cap on my stomach. I took one of Annabeth's books to read, but jeez! This girl has no interesting books! They are _all _about Greek history. So I counted the knots in the wood of the ceiling.

One, two, three, (sigh) four, five . . . forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty, (sigh) fifty-one . . . one hundred and thirty-two, one hundred and thirty-three, one hundred and thirty-four-

"I can't believe this!" Annabeth stormed into the cabin. She slammed the door.

"What?" I rolled my eyes annoyed now that I'd have to start over.

"Percy thinks that he can just tell me what 'the best decision' is. Is his mother Athena? NO! So he shouldn't be so cocky in his answers. There's a reason why I call him Seaweed Brain! And it's not because he's extremely bright. He is not as smart as he thinks he is. Who _does _he think he is? To tell me off like that! Ugh! The nerve. I'm his girlfriend for cryin' out loud! He doesn't even realize it I'm the one who wears the pants in our relationship! Stupid boys. Oh, wait I'm sorry, _men. _Immature, naive, brainless, irresponsible, imprudent, mindless, senseless, dimwitted, thick headed men!" She was boiling mad as she paced about the cabin.

"Uhh . . ." Was all I could croak.

"Don't even try to calm me down. My claws are out and I'm ready to fight." She yelled. She really did look like she could claw out someone's eyes with her hands.

"Okay. Just tell me what happened." I said as I sat her on the bed next to me.

She took a deep breath. "You heard Piper right? Yes, so we all went down to a meeting about the planning for this quest. I told them that we should do more research, but they groaned at that idea. Percy believes that we should go to Alaska. Hazel gave him the idea last night. His logic is very believable, but it's too dangerous . . ."

"Why did he suggest going _there?" _I asked.

"He said that if the gods knew where the Doors of Death are located, they would have told us. But since they haven't told us that means that they can't even sense that the doors are in the world. And the only place where the gods can't sense anything or even _touch _anything is-"

"The land beyond the gods. Alaska." I realized.

"Yeah."

Percy's strategy seemed right. Why wouldn't it? "And what's so wrong about his idea?" I asked.

"Do you _know _just how dangerous that is? Going into the land beyond the gods could mean that if we die there, no one would ever know. We need the gods' help just as much as they need ours." She replied. She had a point. "He thinks that we can just waltz right into Alaska and close the doors of death just as easy as Travis pick-pocketing." _Great simile._

"Annabeth, I think Percy's idea is great. You're just missing one part of the equation that can only be understood if you 'know the secret' which in this case, only you do." I said.

"I would know if I was missing any crucial information, Miss Claire." She said annoyed.

I smirked at her. "It's me."

"What?"

"I'm your secret weapon." I said. "No one knows that I am here. The monsters don't even know that I'm alive. Well, most anyway. Also, don't forget that I have three godly parents. I'm more powerful than most demigods. My destiny is to die in an attempt to save the world! It said so in the prophecy." Annabeth thought for a moment.

"Hmm." She bit her lip as if she was contradicting her own thoughts. "Okay. I guess that makes me feel a little less uneasy." She admitted. "But I still don't like this plan." She slumped her shoulder to show how upset she was.

"Oh, just admit it. It's a good plan and you're just upset it was Seaweed Brain who came up with it instead of you." She looked at me and quickly looked down. "Ha! I was right!" I yelled and poked her.

"I'm not admitting to anything." I thought I saw a gleam in those stormy eyes.

* * *

She told me to stay in the cabin while she brought back lunch. I got my favorite, a turkey sub. Mmm. Then she left to do some research on Daedalus' laptop.

I recounted the knots on the ceiling and got up to three hundred and twenty six

then I got all jumbled up and restarted _again. _I decided it was time to have some fun so I tugged on the Yankees cap and left the cabin. I remembered the layout of the Argo II from my dream so long ago and I went up to the captain's quarters. There was Leo in his official captains cap. And I use the word 'official' very lightly. He was playing with his toy boat again.

_Boy, am I going to have fun now . . . _I thought.

I snuck up behind Leo's chair.

_Wait. What am I doing? I'm invisible! I don't need to sneak. Duh! _I thought. Stupid me.

I walked right in front of him and flicked his cap off to the side. His face was priceless. The sheer confusion shaped his eyebrows in a curve and his big brown eyes grew wide. He went over and picked up his cap and I took hold of his chair. As soon as he was about to sit I pulled the chair away quickly. He fell.

I couldn't hold in my snicker. I'm sorry! It just . . . slipped out. I'd like to see you hold in a laugh while watching Leo fall in his 'captain's' outfit.

He stood up with his hands on his hips. "Annabeth, is that you?" _Uh oh._

I darted for the door and ran back to her cabin and hid in the closet with the cap still on.

_I wonder if he'll look for Annabeth. What will she say? He he. This is so much fun! _

I find it ridiculous how I could get amusement out of that little prank, but considering the situation I was in, I needed something to take my mind off of all the troublesome prophecies . . .

So I had fun pranking other demigods. While they were out of their cabins I died Percy's underwear pink, switched Jason's shaving cream with the whipped cream, stuck Piper's mattress up in the rafters so she wouldn't find it unless she looked up, and activated the pass-code on Hazel's cabin door. It wasn't hard to figure out, but it was a touch screen. I didn't prank Frank. I have some weird connection with him. I guess I kind of know how he feels. The whole 'being-paranoid-because-I know-I'm-going-to-die-soon-but-I-don't-know-when' thing gets me in the gut.

I spent quite a lot of time doing those. It took nearly four hours. The planning, the stealth moves, and making sure that they weren't in the cabin. It worked out perfectly.

That night I decided to go to their Quest Meeting. Big mistake.

"Okay, someone needs to 'fess up about all these mishaps that have been happening." Jason said peeling his hand from his sticky chin. Annabeth seemed confused at first then . . . BAM! She realized what I had done.

"Do you even _know_ just how _long _it took me to get my bed down?" Piper said.

"Where was your bed?" Annabeth asked. She's getting better with her words, but if you look in her eyes they scream the truth.

"It was up in the freakin' rafters, the ones that support the ship and hang in our cabins. I cannot reach up _there_!" She exclaimed.

Percy noticed the expression on Annabeth's face. "Annabeth . . . do you want to tell me something?" He whispered over to her. I didn't hear exactly what, but I did hear the word 'boxers'.

Annabeth shook her head 'no' like a mad woman. I remember when she used to be good at lying. Or at least Percy remembers. I can watch Percy's memories like a movie in my head and see her being so good at keeping secrets. I wonder what happened.

"Well I'm suspecting Annabeth!" Leo yelled. "You know, I have a bruised coccus now!" He rubbed his but from where he fell.

"What?" Everyone chorused except Annabeth who just face palmed.

"Oh yeah, Leo knows how to use a dictionary." Leo talked about himself in third person.

"Leo, it's _coccyx_. Coccus is a type of bacterium, and no. I didn't do anything."

"Well then someone stole your hat! I couldn't see anyone." Now everyone was looking around the room accusingly at each other.

And then Hazel burst into the room. "Sorry!" She squealed. "Leo put a new pass code to the entrance of my cabin."

Leo shook his head as if to say 'no I didn't'.

Suddenly, a shimmering image appeared. It was Nico in an Iris message.

"Thank goodness!" He exclaimed. "Where were you? We've been- Wait, you're not Claire . . ."

* * *

**Probably the worst chapter yet . . . I know, again OCCness. I really need to do some rereading of the Heroes of Olympus books.**

**Until next Thursday.**

**-Eri ;)**


	9. Trust No One

**So the Greeks and Romans aren't fighting yet, but some trust issues come into play soon. Thanks for reading! :)**

**-Eri**

**Disclaimer: Read the tenth line down after** Chapter 9

******* PLEASE READ A/N AT THE BOTTOM*******

* * *

Chapter 9

"Nico, what are you doing?" Hazel shook her head. Annabeth's eyes grew so big, I thought that they'd pop out of her head.

"Claire went missing, so we thought Iris messaging her would track her down because no matter where you are the Iris message connects to the person, always, but I guess not . . ." Nico replied.

"Or maybe-" Percy said and looked around the room for me, invisible me. "This is the answer to our prankster problems. Claire!" He yelled. I knew the jig was up. I sheepishly slipped of the cap and they all glared at me.

"Percy, I just knew I had to be on this quest. I had to. This quest is the only thing I have to look forward to in life!" I told.

"I don't care Claire." He said sternly. "I'm more upset that you went behind everyone's backs and stole a magic item to do what you wanted. How do you think Annabeth feels?" I looked at Annabeth. The only giveaway she showed was the paleness of her face.

"I didn't _steal _it-"

He stared me down with those green orbs. "What? Did it _magically fall onto your head?"_

I glanced at Annabeth who spoke no words. "No. It just- Annabeth gav-"

Jason held out his hand. "Wow, Claire. Why would you try to put any of the blame on Annabeth?"

I was surprised. "Because! She-" I pointed t her.

But I realized that the demigods had their minds set that I stole the Yankees cap and that they weren't going to listen to any excuses that I provided whether they were true or not. So I stopped talking and succumbed into being shoved into a closet.

* * *

Leo didn't have an extra cabin and there was no way anyone would let me bunk with them, afraid of me stealing one of their belongings, hence the supply closet. I was thrown into the closet with an extra sleeping bag and a backpack as a pillow. They locked me there until they could decide what to do with me.

I rummaged through the backpack and found a flashlight, dental floss, a guide of common monsters, a bottle filled to the rim with water and a sleeve of ritz crackers. In the side pocket I found a bag full of drachma. I quickly fashioned the water bottle with my Aphrodite diamond earring and used the flashlight to create a rainbow that reflected in the water. I dropped my drachma in and prayed to Iris.

"Oh goddess, please accept my offering." I whispered almost inaudible. I wished to see Nico.

He appeared.

He saw me and just stared. Was he upset? Angry? Sorry? No, he was disappointed. We just stared at each other trying to read one another's feelings.

"I'm sorry." We both said at once. "No, I am." We said again.

"You go first." Nico said.

"I'm sorry I left without permission. I feel bad for not telling you. And now I regret it." I squinted my eyes shut blocking out the silent whispers of the demigods right outside. "I should've never come here. It was stupid. No one believes or trusts me." I looked in his eyes to make sure he was listening. "Annabeth literally threw her magic cap on me and made me come." I said. "Even if it wasn't that hard to give in. . ." I mumbled.

"She made you go? It doesn't seem like something she'd do." He replied.

"Oh great. So you don't believe me either." I fell back onto the backpack and slumped my shoulders. Nico didn't respond which only confirmed what I had just said before as true.

"Okay look. I'm not saying you are a liar, or that Annabeth is. I know from personal experience that she doesn't like to share her things with many people, but I also know that she understands how important to this quest you are." And then there was silence. Awkward silence. Now that I think about it, what silence is not awkward?

"What was it that you were sorry for?" I asked breaking the silence.

"Oh, I was just . . . You were right."

"What?"

"You were meant to be here." He dragged his hand through his hair. "Everything that happened was a mistake . . . because of me . . ."

I gave him a sardonic look. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Do you remember when Rachel spoke the prophecy and how it was a little funny towards the end?"

"Yes," I replied. Where was he going with this?

"I- I . . ." He struggled to look at me and talk at the same time. "I paid Rachel to not say your name in the prophecy and made her swear on the River Styx." I think my face was redder now than it was at Annabeth during capture the flag.

"YOU WHAT?" I yelled. Then I realized that the other demigods were right outside the closet door and probably heard that. "You what?" I loudly whispered.

"You're so new at all of this and I couldn't let you- you just can't die okay? I would loose someone else I . . . you just can't." He whispered faintly.

My heart said: _AWWWWW!_

My mind said: _Well that plan turned out GREAT! Percy thinks he's meant to be on this quest because of you! Now how am I to tell him that it isn't _his_ destiny? Did you think of that Nico? Huh? I can't just kick someone out of a quest that I snuck on!_

My lips said: "What?"

"You are the only person who sees the _me,_ me. Mortals see a goth kid, both of the camps see my terrifying dad and dead people. No one has ever reached out to the real Nico diAngelo." He looked away again. "I'm not the best at . . ." Now _he _was the one blushing. "Expressing my feelings. My dad says that I need to communicate with others more often and with you- You're just easy to talk to. Like the time on the island."

"Okay, but that doesn't make up for the fact that you did this." Man, that was really hard to say, because he was giving me a pouty face. "What are you going to tell the others? They aren't going to believe what you did and they certainly aren't going to believe me." I said.

"I'll think of something." He looked away. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." I said. It sounded harsh, but I wasn't too happy about what happened. I can't lie to Nico. "So, you were looking for me?" I said brightening the mood.

"Hmph. Do you know how livid your father has become because of your absence?" He smirked.

"Which father?" I smiled. He just let out a light laugh.

_CREAK! _The closet door swung open and Nico disappeared.

"Come on, Claire" Frank said. He pulled me to my feet and I walked into the clump of half-bloods.

* * *

"So, we have decided that it would take too long to head back to Camp Jupiter now and wouldn't give us enough time for our quest." Leo said smoothly. "Our conclusion is that you may join us on our adventure."

A "Yes." Slipped out of my mouth.

"I hope you understand the difference between adventure and quest." Hazel scoffed. My smile dropped. "You're allowed to come with us, but not allowed to interfere with any of the-" She used her hands to gesture air quotes, " 'action'." I heard her mumble _Lying Greeks..._

"What?" I whined. "Oh, please? I could help so much." I pleaded.

"The oracle picks a certain number of demigods. If you don't have the right amount, someone's not coming back alive." Jason said so matter o' factly, I wanted to smack him.

"I distinctly remember that Annabeth chose Tyson, Grover, and Percy on her quest when the tradition was only three may go." I pointed out.

"The oracle didn't say only three, it was a tradition, like you said, but this time the Oracle _specifically_ said seven." Percy countered.

"Well, Percy wasn't even supposed to go!" I yelled. Annabeth looked at me sympathetically while the others looked confused. "Nico told me what happened!" I spat.

"He-he did?" Percy asked baffled.

My face was flushed red by now. "Yes. He told me everything." I replied.

"He promised wouldn't tell anyone what we did." He pursed his lips and scrunched his brows.

Hold the phone . . . "What '_we_' did?" I asked. Was Percy in on it too?

"Uh . . . wait. Did I say we? I meant he." He was _so_ stupid.

"YOU PAID RACHEL ALSO?" I screamed. I swear my face was as red as a tomato.

So it turns out that Hazel had confronted Chiron about me going on this prophecy, Frank spoke to Lupa, and Jason prayed to Apollo to not have the Oracle name me. They all thought that I was 'unexperienced' and not ready. The worst part is Percy also paid Rachel so that he could go on the quest. Talk about going behind everyone's back and _manipulating_ a magic 'item'. He did even worse than I did. At least I had permission from Annabeth to use her cap, even though no one believes me. I can trust no one . . .

So in the end I somehow convinced all of them to let me in on their quest. I can't recall what I had used on them, possible charm-speak, or other 'colorful' words, but I ought to have remembered it because it seemed to have worked well.

Piper was very angry at Percy for making Rachel swear on the River Styx. "What if the oracle made her say Claire's name? What would happen then? Think about it Percy. You almost caused pure chaos to invade Camp Half Blood and destroy the demigods, possibly the entire world!" Piper was such a caring person that even her words came out soft and smooth. It was kinda hard to take her seriously (But trust me, no matter how soft she looks on the outside, her dagger isn't as forgiving.).

"I told Nico that _she_ could be dangerous. I warned him to stay away from _her_." He replied.

* * *

That night I still slept in the supply closet and Leo gave me a real pillow this time. He said he was sorry he had to act that way. "I'm sorry, I should have given you some slack. But you know, I can't stand it when my lady lies to me."

_When will he ever learn? _I thought.

It took a day and a half to travel all the way to Alaska, but it seemed like forever! It felt like forever because none of our group was comfortable talking with each other anymore. All the trust we held was lost, even the trust between Annabeth and Percy. Annabeth kept pushing the subject that Percy paid Rachel to do him a favor. "What else are you paying Rachel for? Huh?" Piper started questioning Percy's common sense by making rachel swear on the River Styx when she wasn't completely positive that the Oracle would also be on agreeing terms. Then Jason agreed with Piper and questioned Percy's right to be praetor, even his right to be a child of one of the Big Three. Hazel and Frank were still fighting and Leo was completely lost. Yet, this was not the worst to come of our battles with trust. This quest was heading down the toilet.

When on a mission the only thing that keeps your side winning is trust between the group. And somehow I feel it is all my fault. Okay, it really _is _my fault. I snuck on there without asking anyone else besides Annabeth, with whom I should have never trusted. It's as if Hope was set free from Pandora's jar and we didn't stand a chance at difficulties to come.

* * *

When we finally reached Alaska we disembarked the ship. And for some odd reason, it was quite warm. Actually _really _warm. Over eighty degrees.

"Hey guys," I started, not asking anyone in particular. "Why is it so hot?"

Of course Annabeth is the one to reply. "I don't know. Something must be wrong . . ."

"It's summer time guys. Seriously. I have lived here before. Alaska has extreme weather." Hazel explained.

Leo told us that we landed in Anchorage. "Anchorage, Alaska's largest city. Population two hundred sixty thousand two hundred and eighty three." I announced.

"How do you know that?" Annabeth asked.

"Well, I just read it. It says it over there on the door of that little diner. Pa's Diner." I replied.

We decided to go over and take a look.

It was a quaint little place, a little run down too. It had those red stripes on the walls and the checkered tabletops. There was a counter where they had those old red stools like you see in movies. The tiles on the floor were black and white and in the corner laid a jukebox. It was really old. The mysterious thing was, that no one was in there except the owner. It looked as if no one had stepped foot in that diner since the 1970's!

There was a tall man over at the counter who came over to greet us who had sort of a weird, modern-day hillbilly look. He wore a white t-shirt overalls and high tops on his gigantic feet. He had on those striped shades which you can barely see out of and a baseball cap on his head. He looked like he was in his forties. What gave it away? Maybe it was the beard he was trying to shape into a goatee, or the side burns, or maybe it was the hair sticking out of his ears and nose!

So not cool.

"Excuse me sir," Piper said in her sweet little voice. "Is this place still running?"

"Eh? Sorry miss, can't hear well anymore. Can you repeat that?" He said in that country accent.

"Is this place still in business?" Piper asked again louder.

The man still looked confused. "Eh?"

"Is this pla-" She started.

"I still can't hear you miss. Speak up!" He said.

"IS THIS PLACE STILL OPEN?" Jason yelled.

The man heard that time. "Oh, yes. Would you like a table?" We nodded. We followed him to one of the bigger tables in the back and he dropped off menus.

We sat silently for a moment, but we all suspected one thing. That man was some sort of creature and no mortal. Who is eight feet tall? Especially in the middle of nowhere like this place. So we decide to order but not eat or even touch a single thing. No one disagreed. He brought waters for us and we decided to ask some questions.

"Excuse me sir," Hazel said. "We are here on vacation and we would like to ask you some questions about this little town of yours."

"Vacation, eh? Well go 'head and start shootin'." He said.

Frank started with the first question. "Is your restaurant always this bare or is it only on Wednesdays."

"Oh, we have some regulars on Sunday mornings, but no. It's a mir'cle that this place stays in business." He said showing his crooked teeth.

"Would you happen to know where the nearest shopping outlet is?" Frank continued.

"It's a, well, I'd say it's 'bout twenty-four and a half miles before you reach a Walmart. Down in that direction." He pointed down the road opposite of our boat.

"Much obliged sir." Frank said in a dismissive way. But the man was done yet.

"Yer know, quite a few youngsters like yer'selves come 'cross here 'unce." He continued. "They tried to make it all'er way to that strip mall and were found on the side of the road 'nconsious." I narrowed my eyes at him. What was he saying . . . ? "It happened quite recently too. Ya'll better be careful now. If yer headin' up there, I wouldn't stay too late eatin'. It gits dark pretty fast." Then he left to go and 'git' the food we ordered. Creepy huh?

What I found hilarious was his accent for living in one of the northern states.

"I think we should leave." Hazel said. "It is really mysterious in here. We should just head over to that strip mall."

"Why in the world would we do that?" Percy said. "What kind of," He dropped his voice to a whisper, "monster warns demigods to get out of a dangerous place? There could be a planned ambush on the road waiting for us right now!"

"Yeah," Leo added. "For all we know, there might not even _be _a Walmart there. How can you trust a guy with no fashion sense whatsoever?"

"Well, we trust you don't we?" I said wittily. Leo just glared. "Sorry. You want to know what I think?" I said. "I think that he is trying to drive us away before it gets dark so that he can meet with someone."

"For Zeus' sake. How would you know _that_?" Piper asked.

"Because, the sign on the door says closes at dusk. Almost all restaurants have solid hours. I believe that he is going to meet with someone tonight, after it becomes dark outside and no one can see."

"That's too slim of proof." Annabeth countered.

"Oh yeah? How about that, over there." I pointed to booths that had reservation signs on them. I strained my eyes on one and looked closer. The sign read:

**Pa**

**Ma**

**Torque**

**Sump**

My eyes widened. I tapped Leo on the shoulder. He saw what I was pointing to and came to the same realization.

"We have to get out of here now guys." He said urgently.

"Why? We're not eating the food." Annabeth questioned.

I looked a Leo and the color from his latino face drained. "We just have to." I said. "We'll explain later."

We all got up and headed out of the door while the man (who was obviously Pa) was in the kitchen. On my way out I saw other reservations. Little cards that had others names on them. I saw Dr. Thorne, the Minotaur, Kampe, Alcyoneus, Polybotes, Porphyrion, Enceladus, a whole table was reserved for Empousai, and another whole table reserved for telekhines. This was a dinner just waiting for a group of naive demigods like us to waltz in. Then there was a golden reservation that said 'Guest of Honor'.

Leo and I explained our encounter with the Cyclopses and the group understood that staying would be practically committing devised a plan to spy on their little gathering.

First we though it'd be smart to hide the ship. We hid it deep within the forest. You could barely see the top of the sail peeking through the trees. It was the best we could do. Then we disguised ourselves in dark clothing and dark face makeup so that we could hide out. Aphrodite had given Piper a magic item that we used. It was an ever-changing perfume. It would hide our demigod scent. "What you do is," Piper informed us. "You take a smelly object," She picked a pine needle from the pine tree overhead. "and stick it in the perfume bottle. Spray it on yourselves," And she squirted us with the smelly pine scent, "and viola! Our trail is covered!"

It seemed like hours of all of us hiding in the bushes next to the diner, but soon enough, the monsters came. As they filed into the diner I was pretty sure all of us held our breath, though breathing wouldn't make any difference with the monsters' loud stomping.

Our old enemies looked meaner and more beat up than ever. We peered through the window above the bush.

"So, the days have worn away have they?" Said an old female telekhine.

"Mm. Yes, now why are we all here Thorne? You promised us new metals?" Said the male telekhine.

"Of course you will get them. Now, about the trip to Sakhalin. Gaea is waiting for her demigod to arrive there. We will meet up with her soon, but before then, we shall devise a plan to capture the demigods on their quest."

_Oh no, they're talking about us. _

"Oh, yeah," Pa said. "They were in here not too long ago."

Thorne looked at Pa confused. "Did you think to capture them?" He asked through clenched teeth.

"Well I was goin' to after I was done serving them, but they left. Them didn't even pay for them's vittles!" His face turned red. "They tricked me." He pouted.

"It's to late now anyway." Thorne continued waving the thought away. "They could not have gotten far. Maybe, you there," He pointed to the empousai. "can track them down. Find them and bring them back alive." The saluted their leader and stomped out the door.

They headed in the direction of the ship. Oh poop. There is no doubt that they would find it. Percy and Jason decided to follow them and divert them into another direction. The rest of us stay and tried to attain as much information as possible on this demigod traitor.

"Now back to business. You were all gathered here because you are such _geniuses_ and have a knack for inventing creations of mayhem. We need you to create a mind-transferring implement. Gaea has great plans for you all if you can finish it by the deadline." He flipped through his notes. "You have until dusk in the next five days."

"Five days!" Ma Gasket exclaimed. "That is not enough. Why, Sump hasn't even reformed yet!"

"That is all Gaea is giving you. And for you information, if you _don't _get it finished in time, Gaea will have my throat." Thorne pursed his blood red lips. "And if I go _down_, you are going _down_ with me."

Kampe swallowed hard. "Go down. You can't posssssibly mean-"

"Oh yes! I mean Tartarus!" He smiled sinisterly.

Kampe whimpered. "Tartarussss." Then she shook her serpent, infested head as to rid of the idea.

Suddenly there were hisses and screams from the woods behind. All of us (including the monsters) turned our heads toward the ruffled foliage hidden within the deep darkness of the woods.

The Minotaur grunted. "They're still here!" Polybotes bellowed. Everyone rushed out of the diner right after our group slipped into the woods. We ran in complete darkness searching for the silhouette of the ship. My arms were stinging from the ripping of my flesh from the thick trees. No scars could be avoided.

We appeared at the scene. Percy was suspended in the air with each of his limbs in the empousai's grasps. His sword was thrown to the side and was wedged in the crook of a tree. They were obviously having fun torturing him. Jason was fending off about seven empousai with his lance. He caused lightning to strike down and fry them. So cool! Oh yeah. We just stayed back not sure if going in to help . . . would actually help.

We watched Percy being pulled from all sides until Annabeth and I couldn't take it anymore. We rushed to his side. I pulled out Riptide II and fought for my life. Gold dust was flying every way I turned. _Ching! _Went my sword, through each bloodthirsty girl. The empousai caught sight of us and dropped Percy. They probably sensed that I was the most powerful in the group and came bounding after me. I distracted them all the way through the woods. They followed me as I ran over and through gigantic roots.

"Oh she looks dangerous." One of them hooted in a raspy voice.

"Quite the fighter!" Another screeched. I sprinted into a clearing. I found that clearings were the best place for fights so that you can see you enemy all around. I sliced and diced and chopped them to bits. Wow . . . I sound like one of those actors on a kitchen appliance commercial. I killed the first six. There was only two left.

"Oh foolish girl, let me have a closer look at you." She said with a raised eyebrow. I plunged my sword into her heart. "Hyperion." She whispered before the wind whisked her away in a shimmering powder. I pondered on her word for a moment when I heard the last empousa clanging behind me. I threw my sword behind me and felt it stab something. I turned around to find that she had already died.

I ran back to the ship to find that it had been set on fire. My worst nightmare coming true. The flames were engulfing the entire ship as Leo tried to calm it down with his powers.

Most of the monsters were dead. All of the empousai were gone, but the Minotaur was the one I was worried about. Hazel was battling the Minotaur herself! Her lance was like a toothpick poking the beast in the chest. Frank was staged as far away from the ship as possible, obviously because the fire was frightening him. He pulled back an arrow and shot the minotaur in between his eyes, which most nearly saved Hazel. But the minotaur didn't disintegrate, instead he fell right on top of Hazel, squishing her under his weight. It was paralyzed but could barely breathe. Frank ran to her aid to lift the one hundred ton monster off of her.

I ran over to Leo. "So, what are we doin'?" I yelled over the already loud screaming.

"Trying to stop this fire. They used Greek fire and it's harder to put out." He said. I nodded. I took my sword and plunged it into the ground and said something in Greek that I didn't even know I knew. "Poseidon, dino emena dynami!" _Poseidon, give me strength! _Water spurted out of the ground at such a high pressure, that if I put my hand into its path, my whole arm would have been gone. I focused my strength on the water and it followed my direction. It extinguished the entire ship. Leo and I high-fived each other (I know, we're weird) and went to help the others.

Annabeth and Jason were slashing at the Giantes. They were losing though, incredibly fast. Leo and I jumped to their aid. I stabbed Alcyneous in the back, but he didn't die. His body just avoided my sword. It was as if he was a hologram. I pulled my sword out puzzled.

"Surprised, lassie?" He said in a Scottish accent._ Scottish? _He swung his fist at my face and I took the blow. I was sprawled out on the far side of the deck. As I drifted into unconsciousness I dreamt of plaid kilts and bagpipes. Random much? Then I was out for the rest of the fight . . .

* * *

I found myself being hospitalized by Annabeth back in the Argo II. Or at least I thought it was Annabeth. Everything was blurry, I couldn't see anything.

"Don't worry," Annabeth's voice came out soft and sweet. "You're okay." She sniffled a bit.

"Ugn." I moaned. I fell back asleep, for my eyes couldn't stay open if my life depended on it.

* * *

My dream went like this:

Chiron was pacing around the big house with Mr. D playing pinochle with three of the satyrs. Nico was also there, watching Chiron pace.

"Are you sure that the Iris message didn't work, Nico?" Chiron asked.

"Uh, sorry sir. I tried my best." Nico responded.

Chiron looked distraught. "The gods have no idea where she might be." He thought out loud. Then he came to a realization. "You don't think that she snuck on the Argo II, do you?"

Nico's eyebrows shot up. "Uh, I wouldn't know sir." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "But even if she did, she is smart enough to take care of herself. She has Percy's persistence and stubbornness to survive." Was Nico lying for me?

"Yes, yes. I suppose so." Chiron said. It sounded more like he was reassuring himself. "What am I going to tell Poseidon? He has already decapitated one of his servants in rage of this predicament." Chiron pursed his lips.

Nico thought. "Why don't you tell him that Claire went with the demigods. I IMed Hazel this morning and she told me they landed in Anchorage. He won't be able to tell if she's in Alaska or not right?"

Chiron clapped his hands. "You're right my boy! Smart you," He rustled Nico's hair. "It will at least give us some time for us to actually find her. Good idea, I shall Iris message that overly tan god right now!" And away he went.

"Don't worry about him boy." Dionysus spoke up. "He'll find the truth out sooner or later, but in the mean time you should not fret. Trust me, it causes gray hair and wrinkles."

Nico must have had the same thought I did. Did Mr. D know? If he did, then why was he keeping such a secret. "W-what truth?" Nico asked.

Mr. D huffed. "I'm not _stupid, _Nacho. I may be a sot at times, but not stupid." He replied.

Nico narrowed his eyes at the god. "How much do you know?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I know that Claudia is with those demigods, and I know that they don't even know themselves, except for Annabeth- I mean Annie Bell. She used the magic cap to sneak on board."

"Wait- what do you mean Annabeth knows?" Nico asked quizzically.

"Why she practically threw the cap at her!" Dionysus threw his hands in the air and leaned over to one satyr. "Let's start over, I haven't a thing to pair." They reshuffled the deck, but Nico sat there dumbfounded.

"Claire told me the truth." Nacho- I mean Nico thought out loud.

_Well of course I did, dummy! _I said in my mind, even though I was pretty sure he couldn't hear me. Then we both thought of the same question.

"Wait, why are you keeping this secret?" Nico asked.

The satyr finished dealing the cards and Mr. D examined them, and then spoke. "I _do_ have a heart you know." He said sarcastically.

"But, you despise demigods." Nico said.

"Of course I do. I despise you, Nacho, especially now that you intend on asking me so many questions. But, I can relate to the girl. Pinochle!" Mr. D laid down his Queen of spades and his Jack of diamonds. Finally Mr. D turned to pay his attention fully to Nico. "She and I are odd ones. We are both 'technically' demigods, but we will never be treated normally."

"You're a _demigod?_" Nico asked.

"Yes boy! You should do more reading on your immortal family! Chiron has plenty of books on us. Hmph. 'Am I a demigod.' Ridiculous!" Dionysus seemed irritated, so Nico left him alone after that.

My dream shifted, now to the other camp, Camp Jupiter. I saw that Tyson and Grover were still there helping Reyna prepare for attacks. Suddenly Nico appeared out of a black hole. _So that's what shadow traveling looks like. _I thought. "Need help?" He asked Reyna.

"Oh, um, yes." She went over to him and whispered into his ear. "I need someone to supervise Octavian. He's in the temple trying to get more information out of those stuffed animals. Ever since Rachel told the prophecy, he is craving more out of his work. He's not quite sane anymore." She said circling her finger around her ear.

"Was he ever sane?" Nico chuckled.

"Very funny." Reyna replied. "I'd just feel safer if someone was with him, he's been shut up in there for hours."

Nico sighed. "Alright." He headed over towards the temple. I started hearing terrible noises. Screeching and squawking. Nico peered through the stained glass window and saw a sight that no one wishes to behold. Octavian was plucking feathers from Ella. Ella is a harpy who memorizes everything she has ever heard or read. And it so happens that she has memorized the sibylline books before they were burned.

"Tell me!"

"SQUAWK! No!" She replied. He pulled out another chunk of feathers.

"I _need _that prophecy! Tell me now or I'll-"

"NO! I won't tell another word. You are just like Phineas!"

"-Or I'll introduce you to my ceremonial knife. Want to shake hands?" He sliced Ella's hand. She screeched in pain. Only one thought came to mind.

_Octavian has the sibylline books._

* * *

I woke up in a sweaty bed rolled up in the blankets like a cocoon. I struggled to untangle myself, but to no avail. It was dark out and I was back on the ship in a cabin. I turned to look at the alarm clock. 2:47 AM it said. I lied back staring up at the beams overhead. I had so much to think about.

_My dad was actually worried that I was missing. Well of course! He might think I chickened out or something. _

_Chiron's job was on the line because of my absence. Could I cause him to loose his immortality? I sure hope not. _

_Mr. D actually has a soft spot for me. Apollo was right. Dionysus and I are quite alike, without being a drunkard and all the name mix-ups. Truly he cares about me and is going to keep the secret. I don't need to be known as a traitor anywhere else. _

_I still don't believe the demigods, here, trust me yet! And speaking of untrustworthy demigods, I am going to kill Octavian when I get back to Camp Jupiter, that is, if Tyson doesn't get to kill him first. _

You see Percy, Hazel, and Frank found and rescued Ella on their quest last year in Alaska. They found her with her sisters near an old man named Phineas. She was the most scrawny of her sisters, but also the smartest. She could remember everything she had ever read, which worked out perfectly since her nest was on top of the Multnomah County Library. The harpies could only eat the food that was from Phineas' table, so she would steal from him all the time. Phineas would beat her and her sisters away as mush as possible even though he had plenty of food to share. When Percy came along, he rescued Ella from Phineas and took her with him back to Camp Jupiter where she met took a liking to her and her to him_._

_ But now that Octavian has her and knows she remembers the sibylline books . . . things are about to get pretty ugly over at Camp Jupiter. Ah. There is just too much to think about when my head hurts. _

I felt a pounding. It was as if my head had its own heartbeat and was beating on my brain with a knife. Ow. Ow. Ow! I looked back at the clock. 2:48 AM.

_That was only one minute? What the Hades? Ugh. This is going to be a long night._

I closed my eyes and imagined Nico and I on the beach. What would have happened if I never told him about the talking fish? Would we still be there, living as normally as possible?

* * *

_Nico was cooking the fish I had seen talking earlier today. I couldn't eat for the smell overwhelmed me. Just thinking about it made my stomach churn. How could I tell him about what happened? He'd think I was crazy. We'll find a way out of here._

_ "Nico?" I decided I should tell him. All I have right now is trust, and I can't afford to loose that._

_ "Yeah?"_

_ I pursed my lips trying to think of the words. I mouthed the words but someone else's voice came out. "You lied to me!" It bellowed. It was deep and dangerous. _

_The image of us on the beach burned as if it was just a picture held in a flame. The scene changed into Nico in my father's palace bound at his wrists and ankles. "Tell me where she is!" My father yelled._

_ "Sir, I-I will, please, if you'd just let me explain-" Too late. Before Nico could finish his sentence my father beheaded him._

* * *

I woke up again sweaty, but this time my heart was racing faster than the time we were chased by Cyclopses. Was that real or really a dream? I sure hope my father wouldn't do something so extreme as that. I turned to look at the clock. 2:50 AM.

"It truly is going to the longest night of my life." I whispered to myself and I flopped down onto my pillow.

I woke up seventeen times that night. But my mind eventually took rest and I slept from 5:50 until 8:45. Three hours. Yay (note the sarcasm). I found extra clothes placed at the end of my bed neatly. I took them and went to the bathroom to dress. I took one look in the mirror and almost cried at the ugly beast staring back at me. "I'm hideous." I said horrified. First off there was still that dark face make up on my face but smudged all over my neck too. There were scars all over my body and a slice that went straight across me cheek. There was a big blue lump right above my left eyebrow. That's where Alcynoeus hit me I guessed. My eyes were drooping and my skin had become a whole new version of pale. I looked and felt exhausted. No, I looked dead.

Then I saw something move out of the corner of the mirror. It wasn't one of the half-bloods. I quickly went for Riptide II and stuck it at a throat. Obviously that person was extremely fast because he wasn't there anymore.

"You can't catch me. I'm the god of speed." Said a god behind me. I turned around to see Hermes smirking at me. I capped my sword.

"Lord Hermes." I said bewildered. I believe I mumbled 'sorry' but not loud enough.

"Yes, good morning to you too." He smirked again.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

Hermes looked around the small bathroom. "Well, you weren't in the cabin and I saw movement within the mirror of the shower room. I guess I should have knocked, but what fun would that have been?"

"Oh, no. Not the bathroom. I mean here. Why are you on the Argo II?" I asked.

He held out a package for me. "I am also the god of messaging. Here is a delivery from Aphrodite."

I took it. Inside was my purse, my magic purse. It was recently filled with new contents and a note stuck on top of it.

_Claire,_

_Darling! Why are you so beat up? A lady must take care of herself always. Don't follow that Athena girl, if she took care of those weak roots it wouldn't have taken so long for Percy to finally to make a move! Here is a new purse that includes some extra clothes and make up that goes well with your skin tone. Oh, and try not to loose this one. I hope you use it well!_

_~ Aphrodite ~_

_P.S. That Hades boy is so sweet. You have made a great choice!_

What great choice? She doesn't think I actually _like _Nico. Does she? Hermes leaned over to take a look at the note, but I snatched it out of his eyesight. He rolled his eyes in frustration. "Well thank you, lord Hermes." I said as I folded the note and stuck it back in the box.

"No problem kid. And, uh, here." He passed me a box of ambrosia and a canteen of nectar. "You look a little bruised. Take it in small amounts." He smiled and snapped to disappear into a vapor of gold dust.

* * *

I showered and applied the make up the best I could. I tried to remember how the professionals did it in the goddess' closet. I did pretty good at my first attempt. I used a light green eye shadow to complement my eyes and I only stabbed my eye twice with the mascara. I took three sips of nectar and felt a fire burn within me and then instantly felt better. I dressed in the clothes that were on my bed. An orange Camp Half Blood t-shirt with jeans. I looked in the purse and found sneakers, not converse, not high tops, regular old sneakers, comfortable ones at that. I slid them on and tied my hair back into a braid. Done. I took a look at myself in the mirror and I definitely look better and healthier. I even started to feel healthier. I walked out of the cabin to look for the others.

I found them all on the dinning deck.

"Hi guys!" I said trying to sound cheerful.

Frank looked confused. "I guess someone's feeling better." He noted. He took a bite of his bacon.

I went over and punched in my meal and it took a moment for the machine to warm up. Soon it came out on the conveyor belt. I took my tray and walked over to the group, but all the chairs were taken so I placed my tray on the other table and dragged another chair over.

As I brought my tray over, Hazel spoke, "Percy's been taken captive."

* * *

**Oh no! Not Percy! **

**Haha. Anyway, quick announcement. **

******I have to go away for a month two weeks from now. So this means I **_**will**_** update **_**next**_** Thursday, but not the following four.**** **

**Thanks for all the reviews guys! :)**

**-Eri **

**P.S. Hope you all had a great 4th of July! (And those of you not in America... I hope you had a great... Wednesday... yeah) ;D**


	10. The Traitor

**Okay, so this is my last update for a while. I won't be on Fanfiction for a month! Good lord, I think I finally found myself a... life? Haha anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. :) Peace!**

**-Eri**

**Disclaimer:... is it necessary to have any other words than 'disclaimer'?**

* * *

Chapter 10

My brain couldn't register what she had just said. "What?" I was completely shocked. I heard my tray clatter to the floor. My body went completely numb. It was so bad that I didn't even feel the hot coffee burn down my legs.

"Uh, careful." Jason said. Leo sat me down on a chair and the others went to go and clean my mess up. I just stared down into my lap.

_I'm so stupid! That should have been me. Wait- That was the attempt to 'save Olympus'- the attempt went awry. PERCY'S GONNA DIE! _My mind screamed with all different kinds of thoughts.

* * *

The next day was a blur. I didn't talk and I didn't move. Frank had to carry me back to my room. I just laid on my bed staring up at the ceiling. I felt my mouth moving, but I couldn't hear sound coming out of my lips.

Something was . . . wrong, though. A piece of my insides was missing. And it wasn't that bruise above my eye that created the illusion. I guess that when Percy was gone, or in distress, I felt it. Not necessarily an empathy link, but something against those lines.

It made me feel out of place. Like I didn't belong on this boat.

Leo would come and visit me at each hour to make sure I was okay. He would just sit there.

When Annabeth came in with ambrosia I heard him say to her. "She keeps repeating 'All my fault. All my fault.' Has she gone-?" He twirled his finger around his ear. "Like, is her mind even there anymore?"

"I don't know." She replied. "All we can do is pray to Mneosyne."

Leo looked confused. "Ah-who?"

"She's the goddess of memory and remembrance. Maybe she can help Claire come back to her senses. Though, ever since Mneosyne gave the gift of memorization to mortals, the gods have banned her from returning to their presence, and since the banishment, Mneosyne had ignored any requests from half-bloods." Annabeth fed me the ambrosia and left with Leo.

I moved for the first time that day to look at the digital clock. 6:32 PM. Two hours later Piper came in. She sat on the end of my bed with a pout. She sat staring at the wall for what must have been twenty minutes. Finally I spoke up.

"Do you need something?"

She turned to look at me and then stared back at the wall. "So, the silent drama queen learns to speak." She pursed her lips. Was she angry at me?

"Why are you mad?" I asked. I finally sat up and stared at her, making it uncomfortable until she answered me.

She turned to look at me coldly. "Everyone cares for you. Even though you snuck on the ship and deliberately disobeyed orders, they still love you. I _know _that Annabeth isn't real happy about any other girl in Percy's life, but she came in and _healed _you. No one cares what I had been through in the fight yesterday."

I hadn't thought about it, but I didn't see Piper when the battle had taken place. Jason and Annabeth were fighting the Giantes, Leo was putting out the fire, Percy was being pulled to death and Hazel and Frank were battling the Minotaur. Where was Piper?

"Even my mother loves you more than me." She whispered. Piper looked longingly at the box Hermes had given me that morning.

"You looked through my box?" I asked with a glare. She shot me a glare right back.

"I think I have a right to since this is, after all, my room." She slumped her shoulders.

"Wait, you gave up your room for me?"

"Yup, I'm now living on Annabeth's floor."

"But why?" I stuttered.

Piper thought for a moment and then she looked at me softly. "I'm not heartless. You do need it more than I do, or at least did."

I smiled at her. "Well, thanks." We sat in silence for a bit longer. "So where is the Argo II headed now?" I questioned.

"To Sakhalin. Just like Thorne said." She replied.

I was puzzled. "And that is . . . where exactly?"

"Leo punched it into his GPS and UPS. It's just off the east coast of Russia."

"What in Hades is UPS?" I asked. "The delivery system? United Parcel Service?"

Piper laughed. "No, the Underworld Positioning System. That way we can mark it if Gaea has a special hideout there." That makes more sense. "Now that you're feeling better, maybe you can get up and breathe some fresh air." I took her advice and we walked out onto the deck and watched the view.

"So, the UPS. Where does it say we are?" I asked curiously.

She scrunched her eyebrows and thought. "I don't know where we are right now, but Sakhalin is right over the River Styx."

"Oh, interesting." Hm. What would Gaea want with the River Styx?

We watched the beautiful scenery, the lush mountains and the trees in full bloom. The clear and still lakes were glowing in the pink sunset. The sky was clear and the beautiful golden rays reflected upon our faces. I love the day at this time. It makes everything look so pure and new. Piper left me to my thoughts and all I could think was:

_It's all my fault._

* * *

Later that night I met up with the others and thanked them for taking care of me. Soon enough, we got down to business.

Leo said that Sakhalin was two days away and in that time we can plan an attack on Gaea and her posse. Annabeth and Jason would be in charge of the attack strategy. Piper and Hazel would be in charge of positioning and direction, preventing us from getting off track of the GPS and the UPS. Leo, Frank and I were to prepare weaponry.

* * *

"So this is the Argo II's forge!" Leo said as he opened a heavy door. It was like Hephaestus' heaven.

We walked in. "Holy Zeus . . ." Was all I could say.

Frank was mesmerized by the collection of bows and different weighted arrows.

A whole wall was dedicated to just archery. They were all different sizes and coolly shaped.

Leo rubbed his hands together and said, "So, lets get started." He and I went straight for the celestial bronze. Frank just stood there. "Whatcha waitin' for?" Leo asked.

"You," Frank replied. "want me," He looked over to the furnace, "to go near . . . that?"

"It's okay Frank. Right? You are allowed to go near fire, but just not your piece of wood." I said to him.

"Oh, yeah." He said nervously. He took one step closer and smiled. "There."

Leo placed his hands on his hips. "Really? One step?" He looked at Frank. "You know, Gaea knows all of our fears and weaknesses. She is, with no doubt, going to use them against us." Leo softened his look at Frank. "We need to stand up to our fears now, so that we can be ready for whatever she throws at us." Leo went over to Frank and clapped him on the back. "We'll help you through it, man." That was the nicest thing I ever heard Leo say, and probably the smartest.

We showed Frank how to stick the metal into the fire until it was glowing red. Then we put it down on the work area and demonstrated how to use a mallet and form the sword. Leo taught us a new way that I didn't even know. I only knew the old fashioned technique of forging. What he did was he melted a pot of celestial bronze in a kettle and had a ready-made mold that cooled the metal. The mold was gel like so that you could peel it off after the metal hardened. It perfected the weapons a lot better than beating them with hammers.

Frank became more comfortable with the furnace and the hot metals. Even though he didn't mind the fire anymore, he preferred the sharpening equipment. Leo made the swords while I took on the job of making the shields. He and I worked across from each other on the worktable.

"So," He said breaking the awkward tension in the room. Frank couldn't hear though, he was too far away and deep into his work. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, much." I replied.

He looked up at me and went back to his work. "Like, all better? Do you remember what happened?"

I stopped hammering. "Yes. I remember you coming to see me a lot. I recall being at a completely crazed state of mind." I pursed my mouth. "And I remember that Percy is gone. That _is _why we are doing this right? I mean, we're making weapons to get my brother back."

He smiled. "Yeah." We worked for a while more in silence. Well almost silence, that is, if you don't count the clanging of magical metals. For some odd reason Leo chuckled to himself and smiled again.

"What?" I asked curious.

"You remembered that I came to see you."

"Mm hm. It was sweet." I replied. "It was probably the first sweet thing you did without trying too hard."

Leo was taken aback. "B-w-what? What do you mean 'trying to hard'? I can't help being sweet lil' old me." He said cockily.

"Sure." I replied sarcastically. I playfully dented his sword. He took offense and dented my shield. It would have turned into a dent war if Frank hadn't come over and asked for help.

Frank twiddled his thumbs. "I accidentally got the sword stuck in the machine." Which was of course impossible. Or so I thought.

_Oh Frank!_

* * *

At dinner that night Jason and Annabeth told us their plan for the attack. They noted that as we would come in for landing Gaea and her 'friends' would see us, so we would land in the Sea of Okhotsk. That will seem like we are just a normal boat crew, rather than flying in.

Annabeth and Piper will go to search for Percy. Of course I objected to this part, but my objection was ignored. I was on Gaea duty.

Of course.

I truly thought Annabeth wanted me dead.

Though she came up with a valid reason. "You have more power over earthshaking than anyone else. That power is even more powerful than your ability over water." I couldn't tell if she was actually complementing me or just saying that so I would not argue.

Piper and Hazel said that we were still on track. Only a day until we would reach Sakhalin.

Leo gave the update on our weapons and who preferred which one. Piper uses her dagger and would like a shield. The same for Annabeth. Hazel requested a sword, and Leo said that he would fit her for one the next day. Jason said he needed a sword to use on Gaea since she is Greek and not roman. A lance would be less effective. Frank is going to need a new bow and a great supply of arrows. We figured that everyone would need new sheaths for their weapons so we added them to the list. We all took to bed early that night so we could rise earlier in the morning.

I told Piper that she could have her room back. So I went back to the supply closet and was out the minute my head hit the pillow.

* * *

My dream . . .

"Claire! Claire!" Percy's voice yelled. Then my dream came into focus. Percy was tied up to a stake on a beach. "Oh thank the gods! You can hear me right?" I tried to reply yes but my voice wasn't working. "Claire! Oh Claire! Where are you? It's a trap! Tell Annabeth-" He was cut off by a gag in his mouth. Gaea appeared out of nowhere.

"Ah darling! Coming to visit me are you?" _How did she know? _"Oh, I know lots of things. Like how either way, I'm going to get a host!" She grinned.

Percy managed to loosen the gag. "She can't! It's a tr-" Gaea covered it again.

"Will you stop! Secrets are called secretsfor a _reason_. Now there." She double knotted it. "Try and get out of that!" She put her hands on her hips in triumph. "Where was I . . . Oh yes! I even know about you and your friends little stakeout. Thorne knew the entire time. He was just too nice to kill you off right then. So instead when you arrive, I'll let you watch your friends die before I use you body to finally finish the job." She walked over to Percy. "And this mass of pure rebellion will be the first one to go." She dragged her nails up Percy's cheek and then the dream disappeared.

Oh yeah. A great nights sleep.

* * *

The next morning Leo, Frank and I finished our jobs and delivered the items to the others. I tried to tell Annabeth about my dream, but she kept saying that I can't chicken out now and to stop making up lies. I wasn't! How can she say such things?

Well we landed in the Sea of Okhotsk with a big splash. We rode to shore to find an empty beach. "See, nothing to be afraid of." Annabeth mocked me. We got off and started to explore.

"The UPS says to move about three miles down that way and we'll be right over the River Styx." Leo ordered. We anchored the ship and followed his directions.

We came to a beach and out in the distance I saw a figure. Perhaps you may know what that figure was. Oh yes, it was Percy tied to that freaking stake! Psh. Made up a lie. TAKE THAT ANNABETH! Percy saw us coming in the distance and started screaming through the gag. I completely dropped our plan right there and ran to Percy.

"PERRRRRCYYYYY!" I called. It was like I found that missing piece inside of me. Literally my other half. A mechanism inside of me clicked when I saw him and I felt as though I needed to be near him. I ran. As I was getting closer something tripped me and soon I found myself tangled in a net. _Trap! _Percy warned me about traps._ So stupid! _I would've face-palmed, but my hands were . . . caught up at the moment.

"See! This is why we tried to prevent you from coming on this quest!" Jason called.

Piper shook her head. "So naive . . . "

Gaea, Dr. Thorne, and a mysterious figure came out of the jungle, which was was the majority of the inner island. I couldn't tell who it the mysterious person was. They were completely covered by a black monk's cloak.

The demigods rushed to my aid, but Gaea beat them to it. "Don't move a muscle, or the girl is dead." I saw her raise a knife over me. Gulp.

"It doesn't matter! She won't kill her. She needs her body!" Percy called out.

Only if looks could kill. Gaea shot Percy such a glare . . . "Shut your mouth, boy! Sure, I can't kill her, but you're not invulnerable anymore, idiot. The River Styx holds nothing on you!" She waggled her knife at him.

Aha! That's why she can't use Percy as a host. He can't hold her full being because he became vulnerable again when he waded through the Little Tiber. But she wants me?

_That's why we're right above the River Styx. She wants to use me as a host! She's going to have me bathe in the River Styx! Uh oh._

"GO!" I yelled to the others. Then I turned to Gaea. "If you let them and Percy go, I will go with you willingly."

"No! That's the dumbest thing I've heard out of your mouth!" Annabeth screamed. "And I've heard _many _dumb things from you."

Gaea raised her thin eyebrows at me. "Do you mean what you say?" Then suddenly, before I could answer, an arrow shot Dr. Thorne in the heart and he turned to dust. Gaea shrieked. "THAT WAS MY BEST LIEUTENANT!" She ran, with her sharpened fingernails out, after Frank ,who still had his bow high in the air.

I saw my chance and broke free of the net with Riptide II. Then I went straight to Percy to free him, as was my first intention. I sawed loose the ropes and he jumped down feeling wobbly and lightheaded. Soon Gaea did some . . . goddess of earth thingy and called upon all of her warriors. The Cyclopses, the Minotaur, some Furies (which were obviously possessed), the telkhines we observed earlier and quite a few of the Giantes, the ones Annabeth and Jason did not defeat, I'm guessing.

I pulled Percy upright and I jerked him away from Polybotes, whom was bounding after us. Only us. Seeing as Polybotes is the bane of Poseidon, he, of course, not letting his eyes stray from his prey, kepts his eyes strained on us. His scaly leg slithered rapidly after us and my attention was so fixed on his surprising appearance that if Percy hadn't caught me, I would've died at the mercy of the enemy of my Father.

I distinctly remember Hazel describing this Giant as able to draw the iron out of your blood. Well, that's exactly what I was experiencing. My hands began to tremble within my brother's. My eyesight became blurry and I felt weak. For some odd reason, I had the craving for tap water . . .

However, Percy had been standing against Polybotes' powers quite well as he dragged me away from the hypnotizing monster. I felt my eyes begin to droop and my thoughts began to wander. That's never good . . . _Wow, his blue armor has beautiful little monsters engraved on it. Gee wiz, his hair his very messy. I think I have a comb in my purse! Oh darn, my purse is on the big boat . . . _

I heard Percy call Jason as he dropped me into the sand. _I saw Percy dance over to the big crazy blue person. They started break dancing on the beach. It was obviously a dance competition. Percy started loosing when the big man did the disco strokes and slammed his fist into my brother's stomach. _"Go Percy! Show him your Sprinkler!" I called my voice sounded loopy. Percy glanced at me confused. _Taking the distraction, the big man plowed into my brother and sent him into the waves of Sakhalin. _

"Alright, you need to wake up." Jason hovered over me and said. He placed his hands on my shoulders and shocked me.

It felt like I was being struck by Maimer, pushed into a lightning storm, and suffered Zeus' wrath all at once. Okay, maybe that was _one_ little exaggeration.

I bolted up into an erect position. "YA-GAH! Ouch!" I glared at Jason and realized the task at hand. Polybotes.

I got up and uncapped Riptide II, which felt extremely heavy for some odd reason, and charged toward that big ugly monster. Charged? More like stumbled. But anyway, Percy and I had some eye communication as we tried to stay on separate sides of Polybotes. Spawns of Poseidon strategizing? Crazy right?

I slashed at his legs, but not a scratch was on him. It was as if the scales that covered Polybotes acted as armor. "Percy!" I called. "There's no way to harm him, he has scales."

"Find the chink in the armor!" He called back.

My mind began racing with ideas. _Chink . . . there's one in the shoulder, the hip, the back, sometimes the elbow, the- the back of the knee! _

I watched Polybotes move. It looked like he didn't have legs, more like a bottom made of snakes. _Gee, do you have a knee? _Luckily I saw a hint of bone structure. I stabbed.

Within a flash, and a loud shriek, Polybotes whipped around and was about a few inches from my face. His eyes were completely blue. The cornea was blue _and _the sclera. I'll tell you, it's pretty creepy to have _that _all up in your face. "Who dares to hurt me?" He chuckled as if I never hurt him at all.

It took a lot of energy, but I managed to steal the water from the ocean and turn it into boiling water. It left little droplets of salt, but what're you gonna do? I willed the water into Polybotes face.

"NRGH!" He backed up into the water. "_Does water do your bidding? Does it heal you? But I am born to oppose Neptune. My touch turns water to poison-"_

"Yeah, Yeah. We heard this spiel before." Percy interrupted. "Why not try something new?"

_Something new . . . _An idea popped into my head. "You can really turn water into poison? Prove it." I asked an shot water at the Giant. It fell on top of him and it quickly turned into a cloudy color. It most definitely was not water.

"'Prove it'" He mocked. "Now lets see what it does to your blood!" He bellowed.

Before he do so much as blink, I held out me hand and and sent the smallest flicker of fire off my palm. And everything went boom.

There was actually at whole lot more screaming involved, but mainly explosions. I don't have a clue on what type of poison he changed the water to, but it was highly flammable.

After the lovely explosions and fireworks, the giant was found unconscious a quarter of a mile out into the ocean. Percy chopped it's head off and it dissolved into a black shadow.

* * *

"Gaea and that _thing_ ran off in the commotion." Piper informed us.

Percy's spirit dropped. "That's fine." He sighed. "I have a feeling that we'll encounter them later. Anyway, is everyone accounted for?" We were all back on the ship safe and scarred.

We gathered below deck in the little hang-out room. "Hey Percy?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"Why did Polybotes die in a dark shadow? That's not the way monsters normally die." I pointed out.

It took him a moment to realize that Polybotes _did _die in a shadow instead of the gold shimmering dust monsters usually do. He looked to Annabeth for answers.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, but my I have a theory. Since the Doors of Death are open . . . it's screwing up deceased mortals and demigods and possibly _faded _immortals. It's also messing up the reformation of defeated monsters. I think that Polybotes didn't really go back to Tartarus . . . I think he reformed at the Doors of Death and headed straight back into the world. I read about it in a book about Tartarus." She walked over to the bookshelf. "Here," She pulled out a black book covered in green designs. "Page three twenty-four . . . " She flipped through the book. "_When killing a monster and it disintegrates into gold dust which signifies that is has returned to Tartarus for a certain period of time. When The dust is reduced to a duller color the monster has not fully returned to the designated death sentence in Tartarus._"

Percy groaned. "You've got to be kidding me."

"She's right." Hazel confirmed. "Nico's better at the whole 'dead' thing, but I can still sense that a giant as strong as Polybotes isn't in Tartarus anymore."

I closed my eyes in annoyance. _Why? Why can't the doors just be automatic and close on their own this everything else nowadays? _"So we might be facing Polybotes again, huh?" I grumbled.

"Guys, worrying isn't going to get us anywhere." Percy said.

"How can we not worry Percy? It's natural." Jason questioned. "I know that other monsters are after us, but Polybotes is a big guy. If he reforms as quickly as Hazel and Annabeth say-"

"Actually he has already reformed." Hazel corrected him.

Jason's hand swung out to point at her. "You see?"

Percy sighed into his hands. "Look, as leader, I suggest that we push Polybotes out of our minds. We can't fix the reformations without closing the Doors of Death first."

"Whoa- Who said you're the leader?" Jason looked Percy up and down as if sizing him up. "It's not like you have any experience in the _best _battle strategy." He said referring to his Roman knowledge.

Percy crossed his arms. "Well, if I recall correctly, on your last quest you freed _Hera_, the one who got us into this mess. Where as on my last quest we freed Thantos, who could help save everyone from becoming dead within the next few days!" Percy's voice grew louder and louder.

"That's because you had Romans with you on the quest." Jason replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Piper asked.

"Yeah!" Leo agreed. "If it wasn't for me, you'd be inside Ma Gasket's stomach!"

Jason stuttered. "Well, you guys are different."

"Different from what? The rest of Camp Half Blood?" Annabeth's voice came out hard.

Jason's mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't come up with an un-offensive response.

"Hmph, Romans." Percy mumbled.

Frank looked at Percy. "Do you really think that Greeks are any better?" His face frowned. Not just his mouth, his _whole _face. "After the quest in Alaska . . . How can you- both of you act like that?"

There was silence while tension held the room.

Everything was quiet until I spoke up. "I'm worried guys. We have to get along if we're to defeat Gaea."

"I'm more worried about that _thing_ in the cloak." Hazel piped up. That started a whole new conversation.

"Who do you think _that_ was?" Frank asked.

We all looked to the All Knowing Annabeth who was mumbling to herself as if she were thinking of the possible answers.

"Obviously the _'demigod friend' _the traitor that the prophecy talks about." Annabeth answered. _But who could it be? _She whispered incoherently. She turned to Percy "Did you see who it was?"

I could hear him quietly mumble _Probably a Roman._ "No. They wouldn't reveal their identity. I don't know how we will ever figure out who it is." His eyes widened. "Wait- Gaea told me that it is someone we know." He put on his thinking face, which is something one doesn't see very often.

"Well, then we should call the camps and make sure that no one's missing." Annabeth replied smartly.

I smiled, "Great idea." We Iris Messaged Camp Half Blood.

Chiron answered. "Hello heroes. How is you que- Claire! There you are. Oh, thank Nemesis. What luck. I thought I'd have to lie to your father forever." I could sense his giant horse heartbeat slowing down.

"Don't worry. Claire's alright." He glanced at me. He didn't smile, but there was a smile in his eyes. "Has anyone disappeared from camp recently?" Percy blurted out.

"Yes, how did you know that one of the campers is missing?" Chiron asked. We all looked at each other satisfied. _We have that traitor now! _Chiron continued, "Nico diAngelo went missing last night."

* * *

**I know. A short chapter... Sorry. Won't update for a couple of weeks.**

**Oh, and please review! ;)**

**-Eri**


	11. Agape Unconditional Love

**I am so sorry that I was gone for that long. I'm planning on updating a few times this week **(because next week I won't be here... *Laughs nervously*)** I'm so glad I actually got reviews when I didn't update! You guys are awesome and I won't let you down. This story WILL get finished. I have most of it planned out, but some parts also need to be filled in... The summer is just too busy! **

**Well, here is the chapter you all have been patiently waiting for after that cliffhanger. **

**-Eri ;)**

* * *

Chapter 11

"I always knew there was something strange about him . . ." Leo said. Hazel and I came to Nico's defense.

"He wouldn't do anything like that!" I countered.

She agreed, "Yeah! You let him alone."

"What happened?" Chiron asked. We filled him in on out little mishap with Gaea and how there was a traitor in our midst. "Hazel and Claire are right. Nico wouldn't do such a thing." Thank goodness.

"Look guys," Jason said. "We can't assign blame until we are sure that no one else has gone missing. Lets contact Camp Jupiter."

We did and it turns out that Reyna, Octavian, and Tyson are gone too.

Tyson wouldn't harm a fly. Seriously, he'd cry if one of it's wings ripped. He's too sensitive and too nice to be on Gaea's side. We all agreed and ruled him out. But the other two could be perfect matches. "It's totally obvious that it's Octavian." Percy said.

"Yeah a little _too _obvious." Annabeth replied. "I think it's Reyna. Did you see just how badly she wanted to get on this quest?"

Jason didn't like Annabeth blaming Reyna. "No, Reyna just likes to be in charge. And there is no way that she'd _ever _be controlled by Gaea. Not ever. I'm going to have to go with Percy on this one." Jason raised his eyebrows in thought. "Octavian's had it out for me ever since I became praetor."

"Me too." Percy agreed.

Jason continued. "I think it's because he's hungry for power." He had a point. "If he had a chance to be in charge of a whole army, he would. Even if it meant teaming up with Gaea."

Hazel finally spoke up. "Jason, ever since you disappeared from camp, Reyna has been acting strange. She created all new rules about training and history." Jason looked confused. Then he looked at Frank for reference.

"Yeah man," Frank said. "we started learning about how everything came to be in the very beginning. How Gaea labored all of her children and stuff. It's not something a guy feels comfortable talking about." He shifted in his seat to show his uncomfortableness.

"Oh," Leo said. "It's like learning about puberty in health class with all the girls, right?"

Frank grinned. "Yeah! It's exactly like that."

"I know how you feel." Leo replied. "I remember there was this one time-"

"Okay!" I interrupted. "We're not in health class right now and we don't need a review." That silenced them.

"So she started from the beginning, beginning?" Piper questioned.

"Yeah. She talked a lot about the Giantes' suffering and their revenge." Hazel answered. Leo and I looked at each other remembering what Ma gasket had said, _'Why one of the great Giantes! For now that the doors of death are open, he can rule this earth and overthrow your stupid parents! He will have his revenge!' _Creepy. Leo and I looked at each other and decided the same thing. 'Let's keep this to ourselves.' It was like we read each other's minds.

"Well, I don't know Nico that much, but he seems very suspicious." Piper chimed in.

"He does not. He just has some family issues, like the rest of us." I said.

"Well, I don't think family issues has anything to do with the fact that he went behind all of your backs and knew about the other camps. He didn't even think to tell any of you." Piper announced. This was the only thing that they all agreed on, except Hazel of course.

"No, Frank, how can you believe that?" She asked looking up at her boyfriend.

"Hazel. I love Nico as much as you do. He's a great friend, but haven't you noticed that he's . . . different? Even for a child of Pluto." Then Frank realized what he had said. Hazel's eyes filled up with tears. "Wait- that didn't come out right."

"Well, I heard it loud and clear!" Hazel got up.

"Hazel! I-I didn't mean it!" She walked away with tears flowing down her face. "Haze-" But he stopped because even if he called her, she wouldn't be able to hear.

Leo made a snide comment. "Dude, you handled that _so_ well."

Frank clenched his fists. "Don't call me _dude._" He pursed his lips and didn't even glance at Leo. "And if you ever make a sarcastic remark about my girlfriend again, you better make sure that you _want _you face punched in." With that, he got up and left Leo there looking so scared, like he could wet his pants. None of us decided to talk after that. It was sort of like a silent dismissal and we all went back to our rooms/ supply closets.

* * *

I couldn't get over the fact that Nico could be on Gaea's side. My mind couldn't rest with that thought circling around in my head, so I decided to Iris message Nico.

_But what if I do and I see him with Gaea? I will be heartbroken. But I can't rest without knowing. Then again if I see him with Gaea I'll never be able to sleep. Oh Nico! Where fore art thou Nico? Oh gods . . . too much Shakespeare._

I did my earring clippy thingy and dropped in my drachma. "Oh goddess, please except my offering." Nico materialized . . . running?

"AHHH! Oh, it's you Claire! I thought it was . . . someone else." He said. I was relieved to find him in the woods and not on the Sakhalin beach. "Need something?" He said through pants, while running.

"Oh, I was just checking up on you. Are you okay? Whom are you running from?" I inquired.

"I'm running from kobaloi!" He gasped.

"From what-huh?" I asked. _What in all of Olympus is kobaloi?_

"They're like little dwarves that like tricking demigods. Sometimes they find pleasure in tricking innocent mortals, but they found me as their entertainment for the night." I heard their tiny little feet trampling the ground behind Nico. "So it that all? Like, I like that you're checking up on me and all, but I'm kind of in the middle of something right now." A kobalos jumped on him from behind. Nico took hold of the dwarf's leg and threw him off.

"Oh, sorry." I said. "It's just that we found out that a demigod from one of the camps is helping Gaea. Everyone except Hazel and me are convinced that it's you because you disappeared the night before we met the traitor." I informed him.

"They what? How can they- Hold on." He jumped onto a branch and swung his body over it like a gymnast would. He landed on top of the limb and snickered at the kobaloi. "Ha ha! Try to get up here with your short little legs!" They tried and failed so they left him alone and walked off to find other entertainment. Nico sighed and took a few minutes to catch his breath. "So, the others think I'm a traitor, huh?"

"Yes. I need to show them that you're not with Gaea." I said. Nico scratched his head. "Oh I know!" I said. "You can shadow travel here and come with us!"

"Oh, I don't know. It would seem like wasted effort to me. They'd just think I'd come to cover any accusations about me and then go back to Gaea." That was some pretty strategical thinking right there. "Actually knowing Leo, he'd probably lock me in a supply closet like he did with you!" Nico jumped down from the tree.

It seemed that the kobaloi were smarter than I had given them credit for. They had waited the entire time for Nico to jump down and then they attacked him. Nico was covered in short funny looking creatures. They didn't look like dwarves, they looked like mini versions of Yoda from Star Wars. "Okay!" Nico said under a pile of kobaloi. "I'm coming Claire!" Nico sprinted for a tree and ran into a shadow.

The next moment, I felt Nico's entire weight fall on top of me. "Umph!" I was crushed. "Will you get off of me!" I called in my last breath of air.

"Oh sorry," Nico looked up at me in the dark supply closet. "So you're still in a supply closet huh?"

I could only see the shimmer of his eyes, but I swear, I could sense him smirking from a mile away. "Stop smirking." Was my response.

Nico and I went out to see if the others were still awake. No one was. The entire ship was empty and dark. "Oh, I didn't think this through." I said. "It probably wasn't the brightest idea for you to come here at this very moment." I hung my head in stupidity.

"Nah, it's okay. I needed to get away from those kobaloi anyway."

We headed back to the supply closet. I offered Nico to stay with me in the supply closet and he accepted it. We slept back to back up close like we did on the beach so long ago. I snuggled up to him. "Just like old times?" I whispered thinking about the beach.

He must have been thinking the same thing because he responded, "Just like old times." And for the first time in a while I slept peacefully.

I woke up to Nico staring at me with his deep brown eyes. "Yes?" I asked groggily.

"Nothing. Just watching you sleep. Do you know that you snore rhythmically?" He grinned that goofy grin of his and I playfully punched him in his arm.

"What time is it?" I asked rummaging through my magic backpack.

Nico looked at his watch, "Around nine thirty."

"NINE THIRTY! Jumpin' Jupiter, We gotta go!" I got up and raced out of the closet. (I never thought I'd say that . . .) I quickly combed my hair and brushed my teeth. I threw on some clothes that I didn't even look at and washed my face. Done! That took about five minutes. Talk about racing around!

Nico stood outside the bathroom waiting for me. "You're done?" I asked him surprised that he had finished before me.

"Oh yeah. Sloshed some of this around," He held up a bottle of ACT Rinse, "And fingered through my hair and . . . that's about it."

My only response to that was: "Ugh, boys."

* * *

We went to the dinning deck and opened the doors to the cafeteria. "What is _he _doing here?" Leo asked as soon as he saw Nico.

"I asked him to come here to show you guys that he's not the 'demigod friend' that the prophecy talks about." I answered.

Nico looked at me like I had just lied. "I'm a friend." He said hurt.

"No, the prophecy tells of a demigod friend who helps the goddess rise in the end. Meaning Gaea." I said.

Nico had a funny look on his face, "Oh, no. I'm not that friend." He confirmed.

I turned towards the others. "See guys he's on our side. So it must be either Octavian or Reyna." I stated.

"Oh yeah? How do you know he's not lying?" Piper interrogated.

I looked to Percy and Annabeth on this one. "Have you guys ever known Nico to lie to anyone?"

"Well there was that one time when he lied for me to go secretly on that quest with the hunters." Percy recalled.

"Oh and that time when he wouldn't tell us why he was with king Minos." Annabeth added.

"Yeah!" Percy remembered. "In the labyrinth! Those were good times." He looked at Annabeth probably remembering their first kiss during their quest in the labyrinth. "I also remember him driving me right into a trap into his father's domain. You nearly tried to kill me!" Maybe this wasn't a good idea because Percy got mad. "No! We should not trust him! He'll lie straight to your faces!"

"Guys, guys!" I tried calming everyone down. "Let's not call out on each other. For one, you yourself, Percy, lied to all of us about your position on this quest." I could feel Nico mockingly shake his head behind me. "It's not like we haven't lied before. Am I right?" They all shook their heads in agreement. "Nico is telling the truth. I saw him last night in . . . where were you again?"

"Afghanistan."

"He was in Afghanistan!" I copied. "We are going to have to trust each other if we're ever going to act like a team and win this battle." My moving words sounded very inspiring. "Now I don't know about you guys, but I trust you all with my life." I tried to think of a simile. "Like Frank trusts his wood with Hazel." Hazel weakly smiled at Frank. Apparently they were still fighting. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my next words. "Can we _please _start working together?" Silence. Pure silence. Everyone exchanged looks around the room. More silence . . .

"I'll try if everyone tries." I heard Piper speak.

"But a Greek . . ." Jason whispered. Piper shot him a glare. He wrapped his arm around her and she squealed at his touch. "We- we can do it. Lets be a team."

"Me too!" Leo popped his head in between them.

Annabeth threw up her hands. "Why not." She looked at Nico. "We don't have a choice or the time to decline. It's the smartest move." She smiled at Nico and went to stand by him. I looked at Frank.

"You want to be on a team with me?" He asked Hazel.

"If I _have_ to." She said jokingly and then latched onto his buff arm. Then we all looked at Percy expectantly.

He sighed. "Oh alright." Annabeth went over and kissed his cheek. "But it's not because I trust Nico. The traitor was taller than you. I can tell." He stared coldly at Nico looking him up and down making sure he got the height right. Nico tried to avoid eye contact with Percy. I would too. Percy can be very intimidating.

"Wait-" Annabeth interrupted. "You said taller? it is none other than Octavian!" They all cheered joyfully that we had solved half of our problems. Or so we thought.

* * *

That afternoon Annabeth devised a great plan: Percy and Nico were to shadow travel to where Octavian is and Percy was to send the coordinates to me through an empathy link that we share. (Apparently he said that we have one since our relations are so close. Grover figured it out when he had trouble contacting Percy while he was kidnapped to Camp Jupiter. He disconnected our link and it cleared the way for him. But Grover's disconnection didn't work all the way. That's the reason why Percy could contact me in my dream of him on the beach. So, Annabeth asked us to iris message Grover later and reconnect our empathy link again.)

We would plug the coordinates into Leo's GPS and UPS and find our way to the Doors of Death! Pretty genius. Am I right?

It didn't matter anyway because Percy refused to go with Nico alone. "I told you! I don't trust him!" He harshly whispered to Annabeth.

"I'll go." I said. "The coordinates come to me as easily as they do to Percy and the empathy link works both ways." After some arguing, Annabeth agreed and Percy and I went to iris messaging Grover alone.

* * *

Juniper appeared in a secretary suit. "Grover Underwood's services. How may the Lord of the Wild help you today?"

"Juniper, it's me." Percy said casually, eye roll and all.

The tree nymph nearly jumped out of her chlorophyll. "Percy! Oh gods, Grover's been worried sick about you guys."

"Can we see him for a second?" I asked.

Juniper flipped through a stack of notes. "Umm . . . Yes. He is all free at the moment. I'm gonna put you on hold for just a teensy second." She smiled. She is so cute! I don't know _how _Grover scored a nymph like her.

She put us on hold. Like literally. Satyrs held onto the iris message and took their hands off when Grover was ready.

"Hi Percy. Hi Claire. How are you guys?" He asked.

Percy seemed happy seeing his best friend. "Doin' great G man. Can you help us?"

"Of course! The Lord of the Wild helps everyone. Big and small, short and tall. I help them all! That's why they call. 'Course I'll help y'all-"

"Okay!" Percy said. "Enough with the rhyming."

Grover raised his furry chin. "How may I be of service?"

"How do you reengage the empathy link?" I asked.

"Oh it's easy! You just have to think of a person that you love. It has to be the same person though." Then he suggested that we try it.

I thought for a moment. "Well I certainly do _not _love Annabeth."

"And I don't _love _Nico." He replied wittily.

"I do not _looove _Nico!" I replied.

"Liar."

"Nu uh!"

"Yeah huh."

"Nu uh!"

"Yeah huh."

"Nu uh!"

"Yeah huh."

"Nu-"

"Guys!" Grover stopped us. We stared at him as he looked at us disapprovingly. "No. You are more mature that this. Or at least I thought. Just . . . think of someone that you both love. A person who you care for and who cares for the both of you."

"Mom." We said simultaneously. Crazy huh? It was like we could read each other's mind without the empathy link!

We tried it, but nothing happened.

I know I loved my mom. She baked the best cookies and she would always know when I was feeling down. She understood my feelings about not having my real dad in the house before I knew he was a god. I remembered our long running joke of blue food. 'Anything is possible. Blue food just reminds us of that, and it tastes better.' She'd say. She even married Smelly Gabe just for me.

Wait, no. That was Percy.

Our mother doesn't even know that I exist.

"I know why it's not working." I said. Grover looked at me to continue. "Mom doesn't even know I'm alive." It is sad when you remember the feeling of a loving mother, but realize that it's only a dream. That's exactly how I felt and Percy seemed to understand me for the first time.

"You never really had a mom, did you?" He said gently. I averted my eyes from him.

"No." I felt hot prickly tears stinging my eyes. He put his hand on my shoulder.

"I-I . . . I'm sorry." He sighed as if he actually felt my pain. He lifted my head up and wiped a tear. "The only way our plan is going to work is if you meet her."

Was he offering to share his mom with me? The one person in the world that keeps him grounded, he is willing to share with this stranger who is somehow related to him? I thought he hated me.

"You- you mean it?" I asked. I mean, it _did_ seem too good to be true.

He nodded. "Thanks Grover. I'll tell you how everything turns out." Percy told him. Grover's image dissolved into nothing. "Let's go ask Annabeth if we can make one extra stop." He smiled at me for the first time. Well he _has_ smiled at me, but this one was a real smile, a genuine one.

* * *

"NO!"

"Please Annabeth? She's got to see her mother once. She already knows she's going to die, for Zeus' sake. Just this once?" I heard Percy trying to convince Annabeth to let me go, from the other room. But Annabeth was standing her ground pretty well, that is until Percy gave her the puppy dog face.

"Oh, I hate you." He whimpered. "Gods, fine!" She crossed her arms in frustration. "Just as long as you guys are back by tomorrow morning, before the first light of day appears. The summer solstice is in three days!"

"Thanks Wise Girl!" Then I heard them kiss. Ugh. Disgusting! But I guess if I was getting a trip to visit my mom, then I could bare it.

We headed out that afternoon, because Annabeth wanted us to be back by morning, which meant that we'd have to leave that night. Not a lot of time when you're flying around Mongolia in a magical ship. So Nico agreed to bring us there by shadow travel. He said he had never done it with two people, but it was worth a shot. We went into one of the cabins and we shut off all of the lights. He ran into the wall a few times, but he finally got it.

* * *

The darkness was even more fierce than ever. It nearly squeezed the breath out of me. The entire way I heard the spirits moaning and haunting and the loudest thing of all was Nico panting. This obviously took a lot out of him. Then we reached the subway under the streets of Manhattan.

"Woowee. Okay, no more two people for a while." Nico said. He was stumbling around and clutching his head. I straightened him and guided him to the upper level.

Oh, my home. Being there wasn't like any vivid dream that I ever had. You could smell the murky puddles and the greasy hot dog stands. Even the smell of cigarettes reminded me of home. Sure they are not the best smells in the world, but smells that bring back good memories, to me, are called 'good' smells. Percy led the way as I helped Nico regain his balance. We walked a couple blocks when I saw someone who seemed very familiar. Someone who had a special place in my/Percy's heart, even though Percy wouldn't want me admitting it for him. Paul Blofis was walking toward my mother's apartment. It _was _four o'clock so he had just gotten out of the school.

"Paul!" I called. Percy shot me a glare. "Er- Mr. Blofis!" I corrected myself. Paul turned around. We ran and caught up to him

"Percy! What are you doing here?" He asked. Then he saw Nico and me. "And, uh, who are your friends?"

"This is Nico and Claire." He introduced us. "They're. . . like me." Paul nodded and started accessing us. Looking us up and down side to side walking around us. No not really, I'm exaggerating. He just looked at us like we were one of the new kids in his class.

"Welcome. I think your mom's home right now Percy. Why don't you bring your friends with you and we can chat for a bit."

"Thanks Paul." Percy replied. We followed Paul up to the apartment. And Nico still rested on me, even though he had become fully recovered. _Oh Nico._

We walked in and there she was. Her dark curly brown hair and her blue eyes glimmering. She stopped and examined Nico and I in her house, but then went right over to Percy and hugged him to death. _I soooo wish that was me. _"Now, who is this?" She said coming over to me. "What happened to Annabeth?" Oh, good thing Annabeth wasn't here. She'd kill me for that comment.

"Oh, no. I'm Claire." I said shaking my mother's hand. "I'm Percy's sister."

"Oh!" She said surprised. "I didn't know that Poseidon had any other children Percy's age." Her smile became tight and her eyes strong. I just smiled, it wasn't the right time to tell her that I'm her daughter also. Actually, I didn't even know if I should tell her! It would just be better for the both of us if she never knew. I mean, why would I burden her with my predicted death? It would kill her and break her heart.

"So, Mrs. Blofis-"

"Please call me by my maiden name, Mrs. Jackson. Or even call me Sally, it doesn't matter." She asked.

"Well thank you Mrs. Jackson. We just wanted to stop by and visit you guys before we go on with the rest of our quest." I said trying not to tear up about how I couldn't even call my own mother mom.

"Now who came up with that idea? I _know _it wasn't Percy. He never cares to say good bye." She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Claire thought it best since we were _so _nearby." Percy said hinting at me that we were basically half way around the world in Mongolia before.

Then she turned her attention to Nico and hugged him. "Now how are you Nico? I just can't stand thinking that you're living out there in the big world on your own."

"Oh, I'm doing just fine Mrs. Jackson." He said. "Thanks for your concern though." He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "If you don't mind, I think I'll go pass out in Percy's room." He carefully walked around the furniture and into Percy's room.

She looked at us admiringly and then jumped. "My cookies! I forgot!" She rushed into the kitchen and she quickly pulled out her famous blue cookies. They smelled perfect. "Great timing! They were just turning brown at the edges." She said as she brought in a hot tray of electric blue chocolate chip cookies. "Now I know what you're thinking Claire, blue why?" She said.

"Well, I like it. It reminds me that if food can be any color then anything is possible." I said trying to impress her with my intelligence. She looked at me appalled.

"Yes." She smiled. We talked for a while and I realized how mush we were alike. Our dark curly hair and our laugh was almost exactly the same. We both use our hands when we talk and scold Percy when he made sarcastic remarks. Then I volunteered to help wash the plates in the kitchen with her. It was a great opportunity to talk with her in private. "You are so sweet. I don't need help washing these dishes." She said.

"If you wash I'll dry." I suggested. She nodded her head at the arrangement. She started filling up the sink with bubbly water.

We washed for a while until she turned to me with a hurt look in her eye. "You know, I thought I was the only woman Poseidon loved those eighteen years ago." I smiled weakly at her. "Who was your mother?" She asked softly.

"Oh. . . about that. The thing is I haven't really ever met my mother." Then her hurt look changed to sympathy.

"Poor dear! You've never met your mom?"

"Not until recently." I said. "You see, I was raised in Hephaestus' palace." I explained to her how I was a 'homemade' demigod. She seemed very surprised at my life story and then she asked how Poseidon was doing. "He's dong just fine. He's worried about Percy and I being on this quest though."

"Why?" She questioned.

"Just because of how dangerous they are and he doesn't want to loose his only children." Again when I said the word children, she winced, Like it hurt her that Poseidon had another child with another woman. I sighed and put the plates down. "Mrs. Jackson, I can't lie to you." She looked at me quizzically. "Poseidon loved you okay? And only you." I chose my words carefully. "Hephaestus modeled me after my mother." I bit my lip trying to think of the next words. "I have your genes and Percy's mind. You're my mom." She looked shocked.

"Now that's funny right there. Oh Claire, that is certainly impossible." She laughed. Then the laughing stopped when she saw my serious face."Oh my, you're honestly telling me the truth?" She dropped her plates back into the sink.

"I'm sorry, I should've told you right from the beginning." I said. "I asked Percy if we could come see you before we go on with our quest. You see, I'm not going to make it out of this quest alive." I felt the tears coming on. "The prophecy says so, it promises my death and I just needed to see you once. Just once." I looked down at my sneakers ashamed that this woman had just been burdened with another child. I looked up to see tears in my mother's eyes. _Oh great, I'm so terrible that I made her cry._

"A daughter?" I nodded. "Oh sweetie!" She embraced me tightly.

_So not what I expected. _Then _I _started crying. We hugged. And hugged. And hugged. "Don't worry about a thing! Oh Claire, I'm sorry for acting that way! Thinking that Poseidon loved another woman at the same time as me feels like I've been betrayed. But you're my daughter. I've wanted a girl the past few years, but who would want a child with Gabe Ugliano?" I laughed at that comment. She planted a kiss on my forehead and we walked back to the living room all puffy eyed.

"Claire?" Percy exclaimed when he saw our tear stained faces. "You told her?"

Paul looked completely confused. "Told her what?"

"Claire is my daughter." Mom said.

Paul fainted.

"Paul!" She rushed over to him and tried waking him When he finally came to, she explained how she didn't give birth to me, but how I was still her daughter.

"I don't understand the gods. . . and I never will." He said. We talked for a while after that and my mom sat right next to me and kept her arm around me. Percy was a bit jealous, but he softened when he remembered that I'm the one who was going to die soon.

As we were about to leave my mom told me to have something before I go. It was a ring that Poseidon gave her on one of their dates. "See that word written on the inside? _Agape. _It is Greek for unconditional love." She looked me in the eyes. "I may have just met you, but my love for you is everlasting." And she meant it._  
_

"It is amazing mom." I kissed her on the cheek and went to get Percy. "So are you ready?" He nodded. We went out into the apartment's hallway and reconnected the empathy link.

_My mother is so wonderful. She actually loves me now and knows that I'm her daughter. She may not know me well, but at least she knows that I'm alive. She is so sweet and comforting, she'll always have a place in my heart._

Just then I began to hear Percy's thoughts: _She loves me and doesn't mind that I go away on quests without telling her. She cared enough to live with that defile smelling man for years just for me. She never gave up on me with transferring to different schools and she always believed in me. She'd give up her life for me. . . And I'd give my life for her. No doubt about it. Hey- Claire?_

_Yep. Its me, _I thought.

_Cool it worked!_

_Yes, now we can go to find this teddy bear murderer and murder him._

_Already on it._

* * *

"Are you awake enough yet, Nico?" Percy asked him as Nico hobbled out of Percy's old room.

Nico looked like the guy who holds the world record for not blinking the longest. He started to shake spasm-like. "Oh yeah!" He yelled louder than necessary. "I-just-drank-the-entire-pot-of-caffeinated-coffee-and-took-a-couple-swigs-from-Paul's-stash-of-Red-Bull." He said in one breath.

I looked at him him disappointed. "That can't be good for you." I said, but Percy just burst out in laughter. And that didn't help the matter (Even though looking back on it, it was hilarious!).

Finally, Nico was able to focus long enough to shadow travel us back to the ship.

When we got there it was around two o'clock in the morning. Percy said good night to us. "Wait, Claire. Come sleep in my room." He whispered to me. "Who knows what he could do to you in this state." I glanced over at Nico and he was still jittery.

"Okay, thanks. I'll be there in a second." He nodded and went to his cabin. I went over and put Nico to bed.

"I'm not tired!" Nico said querulously.

"SHHH! You _are_." I replied. "Just rest." I draped a blanket over him and he stared up at me.

"Thank you." He whispered faintly. I smiled at him.

"Go to sleep." I said and I closed the closet door on him and headed to Percy's cabin.

* * *

"I laid an air mattress on the floor for you." Percy said as I entered the room.

"Okay, thanks." I laid down. I heard Percy's rhythmic breathing within minutes. I stared up at the celling for what must have been hours, but I just couldn't go to sleep. My mind was racing with thoughts.

_My mom loves me. _

_Percy cares for me. _

_We are about to finish this quest and Gaea might rise. _

_Only if we stop Octavian from helping her._

_The only way we could do that is if we. . . Argh! I don't know! _

_We don't have a plan, we don't know how to defeat Gaea. _

_We are only going by what the prophecy says, basically a hear-say. _

_Let me rethink this: Her true plans are to raise her sons the giantes to rule the earth. _

_No- she wants to fix what the gods have broken, the earth that they have ruined. _

_Oh my gods. Gaea wants to build a whole new world. Everything will be destroyed and life as we know it will be no more! _

_Why would Octavian work with her on this? I know he has a need for power, but he wouldn't do something this extreme. . . would he?_

* * *

**Claire met her mom! Oh, everyone loves Sally Jackson, am I right?**

**I hope you aren't mad at me for this lousy chapter. I'm working on the next one and will hopefully update tomorrow. I'm sorry it took a month to put up but I was away and had no laptop, not wireless access from my iPod. Thank you for being so patient!**

**-Eri :)**


	12. FOR NARNIA!

**Hey! Second chapter up this week! I got home earlier than expected- way earlier. Buuuuuut, I found out I won't be here **_**next **_**week... So I'm hoping these two chapters this week will make up for the missed ones and the missed one for next week. After that though, I will return to updating every Thursday. I hope you guys had a fun July, I enjoyed it myself! :D**

**Disclaimer: If you haven't caught on, this isn't Rick Riordan's work... So yeah. I'm not Rick. Hence the disclaimer.**

**-Eri ;D**

* * *

__Chapter 12

_BANG! _I heard the door slam. I opened my eyes to see Nico's eyes strained at me. "What?" I asked.

"Why did you sleep here?"

"Do you remember yesterday at all?" I replied, again in a question.

"Not really." He said furrowing his eyebrows together trying to remember. "Come to think of it, I don't remember anything from yesterday."

"Well," I sat up in bed and started to explain. "You were knocked out after shadow traveling all three of us to Manhattan and then you tried to wake yourself up guzzling a whole pot of coffee and a bottle of Red Bull."

He rubbed his head again. "Yeah, no wonder my head hurts . . ."

I hefted myself out of the air mattress. "Alrighty then. Let's get you some tylenol for that." We went into the cafeteria.

* * *

"Woah, Claire," Jason said. "Grover says he wants his leg hair back." He pointed to the mop of a mess on top of my head. The others laughed at his joke.

"Shut up, wise guy. Ma Gasket just lost her eye and I'm thinking of lending her one of yours." I snapped. A bunch of 'Ooo's made their way around the room.

I got Nico some tylenol and flipped my hair into a ponytail. "So," I said sitting down at the table. "What's the game plan?"

* * *

We all waited for Nico to feel better then we took off with our plan.

He and I shadow traveled to Octavian and wound up in his sacred temple.

"Oh gods-" Nico cursed as he stumbled into the echoey room. "I really got to lay off of the shadow traveling." He fell into a pile of stuffing. "Oh! So soft. . ." And he was out snoring.

I decided to investigate the place for any clues of Octavian's alliance with Gaea. I rummaged through his desk and found nothing but a few thousand clumps of stuffing. I went over to his bookcase filled with ancient books donated by Apollo. There were books filled with information on prophecies, spells and even healing potions.

_Healing for the Wounded, How to get More Information From your Teddies, Clearly Stated, Reading the Rhymes, Processed Prophecies, Sibylline Chronicles, Twenty Different Ways to Use Your Ceremonial Knife- _My finger backtracked to the previous book. _Sibylline Chronicles. _

Oh.

My.

Frackle.

"Octavian has them?" I thought out loud.

"Yes I do." A familiar voice whispered right next to my ear. He suddenly grabbed my shoulders and spun me around and gripped me so hard that I couldn't move. I was staring right at him. He looked different. . . evil even.

"How did you obtain them?" I asked keeping my cool.

"That's for me to know and you. . . _not _to know." Octavian stammered.

"Hmm." I was amused at how poorly he executed his clever response. "Where's Gaea? Aren't you supposed to be attending her every need?" I asked wittily.

"No," He grinned dangerously. "That's Tyson's job."

_What the- _"What kind of twisted story are you trying to feed me?" I all but shouted.

Then he bent over so close to me that his eyelashes tickled my forehead. Then he laughed and his hot breath traveled across my face. "You think I'd make up a story like that? Ha. Well, you can believe what you want to believe." He looked me directly in the eye. "But no matter what you believe, nothing can change what's already happening."

His cold blue eyes seemed like ice, or was it just his freezing boney fingers on my arm creating the illusion. "You could help us Claire." He continued. "The prophecy already predicted that Gaea will win. Why don't you come to the winning side?" He said. "You're so smart, and face it. None of you're so called 'friends' think so. They don't even trust you." He was buttering me up pretty well, but I would never give into him. "You don't even know how much power you possess."

That made me think. _Am I really that powerful? Do I not know my own potential? _"Claire," He whispered. Then suddenly he crashed his lips against mine. I thought a few weeks ago that he was going to kiss me, but I never thought he really would.

I've never had a true kiss before. It felt strange. Well I know that kissing _him_ is strange in itself, but the whole thing was completely unknown to me. I never thought that Octavian would try to pry open my mouth with his tongue. Ever. I felt angry and disgusted that he would even try to do this to me.

I struggled to get out of his grasp, but for a lanky boy, he stuck to me like super glue. I came up with an idea.

I clamped down on is tongue hard with my teeth. He yelped and let go of me. "Whath wath thath fow?" He said with aid to his injured tongue.

I was about to respond, but suddenly a fist smacked Octavian in the jaw. I turned to see Nico in rage. ". . . Idiotic, overgrown child!" Nico yelled. Octavian was sprawled out on the floor from the blow. "What's going on?" Nico asked me breathing heavily.

"He snuck up on me. Look!" I exclaimed. "He has the sibylline books!" Nico stared at the bookshelf in bewilderment. "We have to go back before he comes to. Gaea's not here, but there's still more to figure out."

Nico and I stepped over an unconscious Octavian. "Wait." I said. I walked back to the bookshelf and grabbed the three sibylline books. "Now, let's go." We walked out of there.

It was pitch black out, probably the middle of the night. Everything was extremely quiet. We went to the stables and took a ride on Arion. Hazel had brought him back to Camp Jupiter for her to ride, only. So this was going to be a problem.

_Please help us. _I whispered to him stroking his mane.

_No! _It whinnied back shaking my hand away.

_I'll give you a sugar cube?_

_No!_

_I know a really nice mare. Huh? She's single! _I wiggled my eyebrows up and down in an persuading manner.

_Hmm. . . No!_

_Come on! We need your help! _I thought for a moment. _How about for Hazel? She needs you._

_What?_

_She's in danger. _I replied.

_Let's go! _He whinnied again and we got on.

Arion was like no other creature. Not like Mrs. O'Leary when she shadow traveled. Arion didn't travel through the underworld, but through time. It was as if everything around us had stilled and he ran over waters and through forests and over mountains. In about a minute we arrived somewhere around Russia and we saw the Argo II in the distance. Arion slowed down to a normal pace and trotted up to the giant ship. "Here they are!" I heard Jason yell. We climbed on board and everyone was confused because we didn't follow the plan.

"What happened to sending me the coordinates?" Percy asked.

"Octavian wasn't with Gaea." I said out of breath. "But you're never going to believe who is."

"Who?" They chorused urging me to finish. Nico didn't hear Octavian spill the beans to me so he was also quite curious.

"Tyson."

"No way," Annabeth disagreed. "Tyson would never do that."

_Oh, but you don't know everything, my dear Annabeth, even though you think you do. _"Of course he wouldn't. Unless someone he knew was in danger." I said mysteriously.

"What are you talking about?" Percy asked.

I began my explanation. "I had a dream a while ago that Ocatvian had found out about Ella. I had another dream that night that Nico was killed, but since the second one wasn't true, I thought the first one was a false dream also. But I guess I was wrong." The demigods narrowed their eyes at me. "My hypothesis is that Octavian found out that Ella had memorized the sibylline books and used her for it."

"But wouldn't Tyson try to get her out of there?" Hazel asked.

"Yes, I think that was his first intention. But what if Octavian didn't have a need for Ella anymore?" I held out the sibylline books. They stared at them in awe.

"Impossible. . ." Annabeth breathed. Then they began to touch them and pass them around.

"I found them in Octavian's bookcase." I said. "Now if Octavian had these, why would he want an annoying harpy anymore, no offense, and he obviously couldn't just let her go. If she rambles on about random stuff now, how much more would she tell on Octavian? So his only option was to get rid of her." They started to understand now. "I believe that Tyson gave himself up so that she could stay alive. He's with Gaea at this very moment."

"These are amazing!" Annabeth said flipping through the pages. "Some of the eldest prophecies are recorded in this thing! Wait- Oh this one is pretty cool. Wow, only if Rachel could say stuff like this." Annabeth was mesmerized by them.

"So, here's the _new _new plan." I said.

I told them that we should first make sure that Ella is safe and out of Gaea's reach then rescue Tyson and attack. Okay, I know what you're thinking. It's not fully developed, but then again, Percy wasn't one for making plans, he thought more on his feet. So how much more would I like planning? Blech. I hate it. Luckily Annabeth thought my idea was a great one and decided to get into more detail. So technically I came up with the plan, but she. . . _planned_ the plan. Is that to in-depth?

* * *

Anyway, we found our way to Sakhalin and entered Cape Tihii edging up to the Sea of Okhotsk where we encountered Gaea last. They weren't on the cove though, probably in a secret hideout on the island somewhere. We all stepped onto the island and began our search for their headquarters. Percy and I tried our best to create an empathy link through to Tyson, but to no avail.

So, we had Frank as our ground level lookout. He used his shape shifting powers to morph into a snake. Jason was our guide from overhead. He flew past the trees to get a view of Gaea, but could see nothing. Then we decided to split up the group. Annabeth, Percy, Jason, and Piper went on the search for Gaea while Hazel, Leo, Frank, Nico, and I went to rescue Ella.

"Alright guys. Where would a lunatic goddess hide a talkative harpy?" I asked.

No one could respond, for a shimmering light appeared in front of us. Then Aphrodite's beautiful, womanly figure materialized.

"Oh! It's some of my favorite demigods." She said in her light and airy voice. "Now I understand you are looking for that harpy?"

Hazel's face lit up. "Yes! Do you know where she is?"

Hazel was the most emotional about Ella's kidnapping. I would be too if I was her. You see, Hazel rescued Ella from Phineas with Frank and Percy, but a girls gotta have another girl to talk to right? So they had some bonding time during and after their quest.

"Of course! Am I not the the goddess of love?" The goddess continued, "Do you not realize that Tyson is in this predicament because of love?"

_And why was she asking questions to form her answer?_

"How do we get to her?" Frank asked impatiently.

Aphrodite huffed at Frank's audacity to speak to her that way. "I can transport you to her by air kisses."

"What now?" Leo asked with a disgusted look on his face. Oh Leo. He can have an attracting charisma when he wants to, but then it quickly disappears when he opens his mouth.

Aphrodite kissed her hand and blew towards Leo. _'This is an air kiss.' _I heard Aphrodite's voice whisper in the air near Leo's face. "You see, when Helen of Troy first fell for Menelaus instead of her other five suitors, I gave her a gift. It was the secret messaging of air kisses. What you do is, you think of a message to your lover and then blow the air kiss and when the kiss reaches the lover the message is either said aloud or can be secretly whispered. It's entirely up to you." She said. "Oh you wouldn't believe the naughty thoughts that were said between them. Oh! That was a fun couple." She smiled at the memory. "Mortals have used it since as a cute little gesture, though I think it's truly because kissing the other person's cheek is gross to them. Oh, I'm getting off topic. Now since then," She continued. "I have improved my kissing technique."

Frank, Leo and Nico chuckled. "What?" Aphrodite inquired. "I have become a very good kisser." That sent them over the edge laughing.

"Oh, I'm sure you have!" Leo said and clapped her on the back jokingly.

"Don't touch me." The goddess said through clenched teeth and Leo willingly backed off. "As I was saying, I have improved my kissing technique and am allowed to send a single person to another."

Hazel frowned. "Only one?"

"Yes, and speaking of which, who will it be?" Hazel's eyes became all teary. All of us could see that, so we all agreed that she would be the one to go.

"You'll be okay though, right?" I asked.

"Oh yes, as long as this works. I'll find some way to message you guys if I find her and let you know when we are safe."

"Alright." We said our good byes and Aphrodite blew a kiss to Hazel and Hazel turned into a pink shimmering dust. Then Aphrodite disappeared and all that was left was Nico, Leo, Frank and I clueless on our next move.

* * *

"Maybe we can catch up with Percy and those guys." Frank suggested.

"Maybe, but they could be anywhere by now. . . " Nico stated.

Leo got an idea face. "Can't you darkness travel us?" he asked Nico.

"Uh, no- to the- way!" Nico replied. "I tried _shadow traveling _Percy and Claire at the same time and I was out for hours. there is no possible way I am going to sacrifice my strength at this critical time."

I chimed in. "Maybe I can contact Percy through the empathy link and get his coordinates." I concentrated really hard. So hard my head began to hurt. All my senses were heightened and extremely sensitive. Then I heard a loud erupting in my ear. And no, my eardrum didn't just spontaneously burst, it was something else. As if I was hearing sounds a great distance away. There it is again. _Boom, boom, boom. _Then I felt a small tremor under my feet. It probably wasn't felt by the others because it was very faint. I bent down on the ground and put my ear against the dirt.

"What are you doing?" Leo asked.

"Sh!" I commanded. I had to hear that sound again. _Boom, boom, boom. _Soon after I felt the same rumbling.

"Claire-"

"Shut up!" I yelled at Leo. Gods, all I was trying to do was listen very carefully and he can't stay quiet for a measly second.

Leo was becoming impatient. "Seriously Claire, it's not nap time." I guess it did kinda look like I was getting ready for a good rest, but no.

"Shut up Leo!" Nico yelled for me. He even clamped down a hand over Leo's mouth for me.

"Okay, do you guys hear that booming?" I asked. They shrugged their shoulders. "Well there is a booming going on a few miles that way." I pointed into the direction of the eruption noises. "Well I hear it. There is a loud sound and is causing the earth to shake. It's got to be Gaea. There is no one else in this deserted island. So let me just calculate the direction we ought to go in."

I marked the spot on the ground where I listened and listened one more time. _Boom, boom, boom. _Then I counted to three and then I felt the rumbling. It's like the things children do to tell how far away a thunderstorm is. You see it first, then hear it, then feel it. And how many numbers you count up to multiplied by five is how many miles it is away. So like I said. I marked the spot and searched for another spot that was the same distance away from the boom (which was about forty feet away from the first mark I made).

Then I used some of the geometric skills that I inherited form Hephaestus. I used a stick to make a line from one mark to the other (the boys thought I went nuts!). I bisected the line segment using my arm as a substitute compass and the point that bisected the line would lead us directly to the sound.

I got up and crossed my arms triumphantly. "Now, I don't know about you guys, but I think I did a pretty bang up job for not being a daughter of Athena." The nodded in agreement. "Okay, Frank," I started. "Can you morph into a bear to take us there faster?"

"Aye aye captain!" He saluted me. He bent down and his skin became hairy and he grew paws and claws. . . then a mane? He was a lion.

"Uh. . . do you know what a bear is?" Nico asked.

"Woops. I haven't really mastered these transitions yet." Frank roared after speaking.

"That's okay Frank." I assured. "As long as you're a fast lion, then we are good to go."

We got on Frank's hairy back. Me first, since I knew where to go, then Leo and on the end was Nico. "FOR NARNIA!" Leo yelled.

I looked back at him. "Uh. . ."

"What's Narnia?" Nico asked.

Leo shrugged. "Eh, I don't know. I saw it in a preview for a movie."

Nico and I shrugged also. "Okay." I replied.

"Good enough for me." Nico added.

Then we all lifted our weapons to the sky and yelled. "FOR NARNIA!" And we rode off into the woods on Frank the lion.

* * *

Frank zipped through the woods and I'll tell you - It was amazing. I held onto his mane and he trudged along. The 'booms' were getting louder and the boys began to hear it. And soon after that, the eruptions became so deafening that I couldn't even hear my own thoughts.

We arrived so close to the scene, Frank's roars were muffled into nothing. Suddenly a very pail man ran by with a machete in his hands wildly laughing and saying something in a completely other language. Leo shivered. Then I realized it. That was a famous terrorist. A dead terrorist. Dead souls were . . . living. _Oh gods no. . . _Then, we all saw it.

Seventy foot Gaea using her powers to split open the earth. She was letting out dead souls.

"That is not natural." Nico said. "And I know _unnatural._"

We got off Frank and he changed back into his normal self. Then we rushed to the giant pit where ghosts and ghouls were flowing out of the hole like a never ending geyser. Gaea had the deceased souls lined up like an army._ Oh no._

Right in the first row were all of our demigod veterans. Beckendorf, Silena, Ethan, Castor, Zoe, Bianca, and none other than Luke Castellan. Were they siding with Gaea now? Then we heard Gaea say- "Disperse my strong ones. Soon we will find the others." The earth goddess disappeared and the dead people had a break time. . . I guess.

I like the stupid person I am went right over to Silena. "Silena! What are you doing?"

"Uh- who in the Elysium are you?" She asked. She flipped her dark black hair and placed one of her manicured hands on he hip.

"-New demigod," I answered. "But that's not the point. What are you all doing here fighting for Gaea?"

"Huh, new demigod?" She walked around me inspecting my outward appearance. "A half sister of mine?" She inquired.

"Sort of- stop changing the subject!" I shouted. That got the attention of the other dead demigods.

"Hey, babe." Beckendorf came over and placed one of his muscular arms around her slim waist. "Is this freak giving you any trouble?"

"No," She smiled up at her boyfriend. "but she might become trouble. She's a _live_ one." With that Castor's eyebrows shot up.

"Living." His face turned to a picture of full bliss. "I can't wait to feel that again."

"Castor!" Ethan yelled. "You just told her the-" Then Ethan clamped his mouth shut realizing I was still there. "You know? You seem familiar." He said changing the subject.

"What's going on?" I asked. "It's not like I'm so oblivious that- you who are supposed to be dead, but are walking around- I wouldn't think anything of it." I said. Then Nico, and Frank came over.

"Bianca?" Nico's voice quivered. Nico's sister was hiding behind Zoe, the former lieutenant of the hunters. "Is that really you?" The young girl nodded.

She came out slowly from her spot. She seemed about thirteen. "Nico, you've. . . grown." She said.

"Elder than thou," Zoe snickered. I forgot she speaks. . . old-like.

"I-I, I thought you tried for rebirth." Nico breathed.

"I did," She replied in her little voice. "But Gaea found me and gave me a great offer that I couldn't resist." Then the others were glaring at Bianca, urging her not to let anything slip.

"Alright, what's going on?" I shouted. Luke pursed his lips.

He then turned to his friends. "Guys, I think we should tell them, give 'em a head start on the things to come."

"Luke," Castor started. "We took the oath. We aren't allowed to speak of it whatsoever! Even this little conversation is bending the rules."

"Castor, Luke doth make sense." Zoe blushed. Luke shined a winning smile at her. What was between them? Weird, because she's like four-hundred years old and he's what, like twenty now? Zoe turned to us. "Thou are within grave danger. Gaea doest plan to renew the earth and all that be living shall perish."

"Ok, first off-" I said. "you need to learn modern english. Second off- I know she's going to renew the earth, but what is this about the living shall perish?" I asked.

Beckendorf cleared his throat. "That's why we're here." He said. "She told us that we'd be one of the first living in her new world if we'd help her overtake Olympus. So she opened the Doors of Death and let us out."

"Why would you agree to that?" Frank exclaimed.

"Why wouldn't we?" Beckendorf replied. "Gaea showed us the prophecy, you guys don't stand a chance. Like the saying goes, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

"NO!" I countered. "The saying goes, If you can't beat 'em, keep on persevering until you can't go anymore and die with honor!"

"Well we did." Luke said. And that hit me like a brick. They were all dead. The did the best they could for the gods, but now what was left for them? If Gaea did rise, there would be no more Elysium for them to run back to, no other place to turn.

I couldn't find the words to respond. I looked at each one of them. Silena's beauty still shined, Beckendorf was as buff as ever (stubborn too), Zoe and her hunter's headband and the determination painted on her face, Bianca and her timid, but fierce eyes, Castor had the same carefree expression as his dad, Dionysus, Ethan was fidgety and scared about Gaea catching them, and Luke with his beach blond hair and clouded blue eyes still mischievous and sly like his father, Hermes.

"Look, I'm sorry that you have no other place to go, but neither will we if Gaea wins this battle. Why can't you just side with your parents one last time?" I asked.

"What have they done for us but get us killed?" Beckendorf replied.

"He has a point-" Frank started.

"Not helping." I muttered. "So what?" I asked. "Are you guys going to actually fight against us? Resist us?"

"Look kid," Luke said pointing a finger at me. "you have no idea what we've been through." He continued. "You're new to all of this demigod stuff so lay off okay?"

"No, I'm not going to 'lay off'. I've been through quite a lot myself." Then I went on and explained my whole situation as briefly as possible. "So what's your answer?"

"Sorry Claire," Ethan said. "We have everything to risk at the moment-"

"What are you saying?" Nico interrupted.

Luke spoke for the group. "I guess we're saying. . ." He closed his eyes in frustration. "See you on the battle field." Then he walked away with a wisp of his soul trailing behind. Then the others followed leaving Frank, Nico and I watching them shocked.

Nico just couldn't watch his sister walk away again after she left him for the hunters so long ago. "Bianca! NO!" He ran up behind her and embraced her. "I'm not leaving without you." He squeezed her tight.

"Hey!" Castor shouted and he went to pry Nico off of his fellow traitor.

"Nico, I have to." Bianca replied softly.

"You don't _have _to do anything!" Then tears came streaming down his face. "You didn't _have _to join the hunters, you didn't _have _to risk your life on the quest, you didn't _have _to go and do the rebirth, and you don't _have _to do this!" He cried and the tears dropped onto Bianca's neatly braided hair. "Please don't go. . . Don't leave me." He whispered.

"I don't have to." She whispered back. "You can join us. Join the winning side." She said. "Join Gaea." She looked up and locked eyes with her brother.

"NO!" I shouted. I ran over to them. "No Nico. You can't! Think about the camps, think about the gods."

"Stop foolish girl, this is Nico's decision." Bianca hushed me. I looked at Nico.

_Don't listen to her, please. You can't leave us. You can't leave me. _I thought.

Nico looked back and forth between us trying his hardest to make the best decision. "Bianca-" He started. "Siblings stick by each other through everything," Bianca smiled at him. "but I lost you." Then her smile melted. "You abandoned me."

"And if I could take it all back I would-" She said.

"But you can't. None of us can. It's unnatural and you know it." He interrupted her. "You know that _this _is unnatural." Bianca pouted shamefully.

"Then I guess Luke is right." Bianca huffed. "I just hope I don't have to battle against you personally." She kissed Nico on the cheek and left with the flick of her ghostly hair. And Nico let one last tear drop for his sister. He became very quiet after that.

Truly, I didn't know what to say but: "Come on. Let's find Leo."

We found him over by a girl our age. Figures. "So, since you died and are out of the hunt you're, like, free, right?" I heard him say. The girl just giggled.

Frank went over and pulled him by the back of his collar. "Come on lover boy." Frank muttered as he pulled Leo away.

"Call me!" Leo called to the girl as we went back into the thick of the woods.

Gods, Leo could be so annoying. "Leo," I started, once we were far enough away from the ghostly army. "You really have to be more focused." I scolded.

"Ooo." Leo mocked. "Is someone jealous?" I could tell he was implying me.

"Of who?" I asked. "The poor girl who had to talk to you the whole time?" I questioned. "Yea, that's it. Jealousy." I said snidely.

* * *

We trudged further on into the woods in silence. Why we did, I don't know. Going into the woods wasn't helping, in any way, in our plan to save the reign of our parents _or _save the lives of people in this world. But I had a feeling that it helped Nico think about the last goodbye he had just said to his long lost sister.

I don't know Bianca that well. I just have Percy's memories of her, but she's changed since the quest to the Nico's boarding school. Not the kind of physical death change either, but more of a personality change. She seemed more determined. Determined to get Nico onto Gaea's side. Why would she want that? Doesn't she know that going against the gods would mean that forever they would deny him? That if Nico went, he'd have to face the other twelve hundred demigods from the camps alone? Bianca didn't want Nico to be happy. She wanted to be happy herself by having Nico live with her in the new world. I finally decided that Bianca was selfish. I vowed not to act like her and give my all to my camps and friends. I mean seriously though, what would I gain if _I _was selfish? I'm dying anyway!

I have to keep reminding myself to give my all. I just forget that I _am _supposed to die on this quest. I'm supposed to give my life for my friends, my world, my Percy. Nothing is going to get in the way of my dying. I WILL DIE! Gods, how stupid does that sound? My life is so messed up.

Everything was silent as I went through my thoughts and our plans.

_What now? Where do we go from here? We have to catch up with Percy and the others. We have to see if they found Tyson. If they rescued him. What happens if they don't? What if Percy is the child of Poseidon that dies in the end by 'attempting' to rescue Tyson? What if Tyson dies in the process? Oh. I really wish that the prophecy was completely clear or completely general. _My thoughts swirled around in my head making me dizzy as we walked.

That is, until Nico stopped. "Wait," He said abruptly. "Wait- I felt something."

"What?" Frank asked.

"A death." He shivered. "No, lots of deaths." Our eyes widened. "Guys." He said again. "The battle has begun."

* * *

**I LOVED writing this chapter! I enjoyed it soooooooo much. I hope you guys had fun reading it as much as I did imagining it.**

**BTW- Warning. I'm not good at writing battles and fights so give me a little slack as I prepare the next few chapters. I wish I had the ability to describe battles... I try to use different fanfics and the original PJO books for reference... so far I stink... wish me luck :(**

**-Eri**


	13. Zhang Takes Charge

**Oh, hey Fanfiction, I didn't see you there.**

** I LOVED this summer. I haven't been around- or even at home- for over a month. Now I am sleeping in my own bed (YESSSS!) and I have my laptop back (HALELUJAH!). So I opened up my laptop and realized: Crap... its broken. **

**Yup, my laptop is having some issues with turning itself on and staying on. It's shuttig off at random times and I just can't trust it right now... I'm sad.**

**But luckily I saved the entire story in my doc manager. Yay! So I can access it anywhere- such as my grandpa's laptop which is what I am typing on this very moment. **

**So please excuse my tardiness if I have late updates. My laptop should be fixed sometime in Sept.**

**Well, get ready for a suckish battle. :/**

**Plus, I apologize for this terribly short chapter. I didn't even pass four thousand words this time! WHAT AM I BECOMING?! **

**-Eri ;D**

**Disclaimer: If I were Rick Riordan, my penname would be IAMPUREAWESOMENESS. But it's not...**

* * *

Chapter 13

Ghastly shrieks and screams were coming from the near distance.

We ran.

"I can feel their souls gaining on us!" Nico yelled. We sprinted as fast as our legs could take us, but that wasn't enough.

I glanced back and caught a glimpse of a dead person. A random dead woman chasing after me with a knife. Wow, now that's messed up. "Guys! Split up NOW!" Frank commanded. I whipped out Riptide II and took a ready stance. I swung my sword straight through the deceased neck, but nothing happened. It went clean through without damaging the stupid soul.

"Y' can't kill me idiot. I'm already dead!" She shrieked.

I never thought of that.

Then she threw the knife at me. I dodged it as it wedged itself into the tree behind me. I went over and pried it out.

It was real. So dead people can hold real things, but can't die? That's completely unfair.

A wave of the undead came over us. I was slashed at and bitten, which I know is completely gross thinking about when the last time they brushed their decaying mouths. One soul tugged at my arm and I truly thought that I was about to loose a limb. He definitely pulled my arm out of its socket, but with a badly aimed punch, it was knocked back into place. "Good gods, that hurt." I shook out my arm.

-Just in time too, for Leo decided to use me as a body guard. Two spirits began to bind my arms up and over my head. Leo took out greek fire from his toolbelt and tossed it in their dead faces. Giving me the opportunity to escape their binds. Luckily greek fire can reach the living, dead, and undead.

Nico was having some luck, though. He slashed his stygian sword and gruesome guts poured out of the soldier. He looked up at Frank. "Frank!" He called. "Not all of them are spirits!"

I examined the situation: Leo had a hammer from his tool belt, Nico had his stygian iron sword while Frank had nothing. I mean he had his bow on his back, but no arrows. So he was fighting with his bare hands, not the best defense.

"Frank!" I called. "Heads up!" I tossed him the knife. He caught it and stabbed the ghost, but quite like the same situation with me, the dead man was not fazed by it. The soul slithered away and floated up into the limbs of the trees. I glanced up and saw a fog. It looked like a fog at least. BUt I realized my mistake, for it was a wall of souls, ghouls, and spirits hovering above the battle.

"Look for the eyes!" Nico yelled.

He was right. The souls that could not be killed had eyes that stood out. They were deeper, as if you looked too closely, you'd fall into a trance.

Instead, Frank lined up the dagger with his bow and shot one of the undead soldiers. The soldier had blood shot eyes. They were definitely ancient. The knife got him in the neck and made a clean cut. And don't let the 'clean' in 'clean cut' fool you- it was the second most disgusting thing I ever witnessed.

We continued defending ourselves when suddenly, the one that Frank shot began reassembling himself. He took his head in his hands and screwed it back on and charged at Frank. Now, _that _was the number one most disgusting thing I ever witnessed.

"Guys." Frank said dodging death stabs. "They can't die, we have to-" Then I heard a call from overhead.

Jason and Annabeth! Boy, I have never been so happy to see them. "Do something!" He called to them.

"What?" They said simultaneously. "We have no control over dead!"

"I don't know! Uh-" Then he got an idea face, "Nico! Do something!" He managed to strangle out the words as he blocked a soldier from striking him in the chest.

"WHAT?" He asked in annoyance for he was being chased by a ghost . . . pirate? The only 'give-away' was the occasional _Aaargh! _and _Good shot, matey! _plus the oversized hat with the skull and crossbones.

"Well, you're the king of death, ghosts, uh souls . . . whatever! Just stop them!" He called back.

I concentrated on their conversation so attentively that I didn't even register the ghostly arms draped aroung my neck until too late.

It felt strange. I could tell that the souls arms weren't solid. There was no texture to it. My neck felt as if some force was causing pressure to build around my throat, but I could not resist it. "Please!" I croaked.

Nico nocked out the zombie like creature with a cool flip of his sword. With his ninja like move he thrust his sword into the ground and the earth opened up, almost like Gaea had done before, but this was smaller.

The souls went out of control and were being drained into the gap Nico made in the Underworld. All of their weapons, on the other hand, were left in the woods scattered all around the ground. The ground closed up, Nico collapsed from exhaustion and Jason and Annabeth gracefully floated down.

"Are you all alright?" Annabeth asked.

I turned to face the questioner. "Are we alright?!" I all but shouted. "You were there watching the ENTIRE thing!" I could feel my face grow hot. "You had freaking front row seats to our possible death!" I was hyperventilating by then. "And, you ask," I glared at Miss Smartmouth, over here, "are we 'alright'." Leo restrained me.

"Chill!" He scolded. "But yeah, we're fine." It took all I had not to sucker punch him. Leo scratched his head. "Nico seems a bit worn out, no?" He smirked at his own comment. Now I wanted to throw him into that gaping hole leading to the Underworld. Too bad it already closed up . . .

"Where's Hazel?" Jason asked.

"Getting Ella-"

"You let her go alone?!" He asked shocked. "What about our plan? You always seem to end up _not _following the plan!" Jason threw his hands in the air to show his annoyance. _Like he has any right to be annoyed with me. Psh!_

"Look, Aphrodite had only one transport kiss and Hazel just had to go. Ella's her friend, more than any of us are." I explained.

"What? Why is Aphrodite part of this? And what is this about kissing?" Leo burst out into laughter, which is why I actually hit him this time.

"Never mind." Frank said for me. "We really ought to get out of here before Gaea sends another wave of death after us."

"You're right." I agreed. "But how are we going to get out of here." I wondered. I searched our surroundings. It was forest like. Many trees and this was definitely not a populated area. The gods know the last time and mortal stepped foot in this part of nature.

Jason put his hands up. "Don't look at me! I could barely carry Annabeth all the way here."

"Are you implying that I'm fat?" Annabeth stuck her hand onto her hip.

"No! No, it's just that carrying another person tires me out, let alone uh, one, two, three- five people!" He said.

Frank instantly turned into a twenty foot long, golden dragon. "Transportation? Not a problem. Come on."

Leo gasped. "You're just like Festus!"

_Festus? What the- Doesn't festus mean happy in latin? Oh gods, Leo is so weird._

"Uh- yeah. Sure, climb aboard." Frank replied. Jason and Leo hoisted Nico onto Frank. Annabeth sat in front, then Leo, Jason, unconscious Nico, then me. I held Nico in place so he at least wouldn't fall. And Frank soon took flight on our way to Tyson and Percy!

* * *

Jason and Annabeth told us all about their exploration. They had found Gaea's home base. It is an underground structure filled with a variety of levels called sectors. The entrance isn't heavily guarded, but every sector has a band of security that is extremely alert. They found Percy and Tyson. They came back to retrieve help from us- even though they say they came to see if 'we' needed help- and left Piper helping Percy and Tyson.

The sudden start almost threw me off my balance. And the jolt made Nico fall completely.

I caught him though. He was dangling off of Frank with half of his body. And he was surprisingly heavy for Nico. I mean he's not that tall so it can't be his height that weighs so much, he's not real muscular (no offense Nico) so that can't carry much weight. You know? Looking back on it, it was probably his stupid jacket. But I hoisted him up anyway just fine.

So, there I was, sitting on my friend dragon (if that makes any sense) with an unconscious Nico on my lap. Oh, did I mention that Annabeth and Leo were bickering the whole way there?

"You think you're _sooo_ smart." Leo stretched his sentence for effect.

"Pretty much." Annabeth flipped her curls from her eyes. "My mom's ATHENA! She invented smart! And she gives knowledge out as a reward for those being worthy of wisdom. " She yelled back at him. "And we can all see that you haven't earned her blessing."

Leo gasped. "I _am _smart!" He countered back. "You may be able to draw stupid blueprints, but I can make them come to life! Having wisdom isn't just knowing how to do stuff, _Annabeth. _It's also knowing how to put them into practice!"

"I can put them into practice! Why, a couple years before you fixed Festive's body, I reattached his head. And that's without your specialized tools, I only used my dagger." She said cockily.

"First off- It's Festus, okay? It's not Festive, or Feces, or whatever. It's Festus." Annabeth rolled her eyes at his comment. "And second- You didn't fix his head correctly. He would have lasted longer if you at least oiled the disk in his head and switched the half-inch bolt to the three quarter-inch bolt. It was way too loose, which is why he eventually died off. If you truly 'fixed' him so many years ago, then why were there stories of the guard dragon going wild in the middle of the night?" Leo crossed his arms accusingly. "You just know about random useless stuff!" Annabeth winced at that last comment, but bounced back quick.

She rolled her eyes again. "Okay Leo. Not all of us have the ability to be so good with machines. But that is the trait Hepheastus passed down to you as Athena passed wisdom down to me. We all have strengths in our own field. I'm just good with battle strategy and knowing things no one else wants to hear." Her face dropped into a frown.

"Now look what you done." Jason threw his hands into the air. "Why is it, Leo, that every time you talk with a girl she ends up either crying or smacking you in the face?"

"Aw, I'm sorry Annabeth. Look, I didn't mean what I said. You _are _smart. You know _a lot _of useful things and strategies that we need on this quest." I saw Annabeth smirk under her mess of blond curls.

"Thanks." She winked beneath her hair. "I just needed to hear you say it." Leo just rolled his eyes.

"How much farther Jason?" I called from the back. "I'm getting tired of them. Plus, I think my leg fell asleep under Nico." You see, Jason could tell where we were in the sky like Percy and I could tell where we were in the ocean or on water.

"About four more miles." He answered.

"Oh good!" I heard Frank's rough dragon voice grumble from underneath me. "My arms- I mean wings are starting to cramp up."

* * *

Finally, a clearing came into view. Toward the edge of the clearing was a tunnel that led underground. "So we really _do_ have to go underground to get Tyson and Percy? Something just doesn't seem right about that." I said.

"Don't worry." Jason reassured me. "Annabeth and I got out of there just fine. No one even noticed that we were in there." As Frank came in for a landing, my stomach began to slowly crawl up my throat. Something about going _underground _with _Gaea- the earth goddess, _made me feel . . . uneasy.

We all hopped of Frank and Leo carried Nico with Jason. I obviously couldn't hold his weight and Annabeth showed no sign of helping. By the time we go off, she was awaiting us at the tunnel entrance and was too concerned about how we will retrieve Percy, Piper and Tyson. She started pacing around and mumbling to herself.

"Do you think it'd be easier if we just left Nico here?" I asked. The guys shrugged. I guess it was our best option. There is no way we could sneak in lugging Nico the entire way. So Leo and I hid him in the bushes behind a tree. We camouflaged him with leaves and fallen foliage.

As we started to head into the tunnel and I took one last look at him.

_He'll be alright. The real question is- Will I?_

I hesitantly stepped into the dark tunnel._ Now this is a place where Nico would be useful. Too bad he's back there. _I thought.

Leo led the way with a flicker of fire dancing on his palm. I took notice that Frank stayed at the back of the line. I dropped my walking paced until I walked in unison with him. "It's okay Frank." I tried to ease his nerves. "Where is your 'wood of life' anyway?"

"Uh . . . it's with-" He stopped dead in his tracks and patted his pockets. "Hazel has it." He looked alarmed.

"I'm sure everything will be fine. Don't worry so much." I walked next to Frank and tried to get his mind off of his toothpick as we headed down the pitch black tunnel. "So you and Hazel got back together?" My voice echoed throughout the long tube.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." He replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she really took the Hades comment offensive. I didn't mean for it to be, but you know, Pluto children are a little . . . weird. They're just not normal."

"Um, Frank?" I began. "I think you're talking to the wrong person about normal. There is _nothing_ normal about me." I eyed him with my sarcastic eyes.

He chuckled. "Oh yeah." He sighed and fingered through his hair. "I guess we are all a little weird in our own ways. But Hazel," He sighed. "I didn't even think for one second-"

"That's how guys usually are. " I added.

"I didn't even think for one second that she actually _is _a child of Pluto. She's so sweet. Nothing about her could be from the Underworld." He pursed his lips regretting his comment.

"We usually picture Hades as the god who drags you down to the fields of punishment, but he also controls who goes to the Elysium." I reminded him. "He's not the god of hatred. Now, that's Ares' job." I joked.

"Hey," Frank crossed his arms. "That's my Greek-equivalent dad you're talking about." He tried to stay serious, but he couldn't help laughing. "You're right though. My dad finds amusement in starting arguments and starting bloody wars, especially ones that involve his family." He shook his head. "I really thought I was an Apollo kid."

Then Frank's face became sad. I looked up at his eyes. "Frank, it doesn't matter whose child you are." I smiled at him "You still are the sweet guy who has an amazing talent."

"Why thank you." He said smugly. "But I think I need to practice on changing into a bear and not a lion more often."

"Not that talent." I said. "You're good at archery and being a leader. That's one thing I noticed you inherited from your dad. You're not overly bossy, but can take charge when needed. You knew exactly what to do when the creepy army of Gaea tried to kill us." I rubbed the bruises on my right arm remembering the horrible screeches.

He smiled at me. "Well, thanks. I guess Mars isn't so bad. I just hope he gives us the strength to win this battle."

"Me too."

* * *

We walked for what seemed like forever. The tunnel had become disgustingly grimy and moist. The walls were completely made of mud and I thought that it would slide down on us at any second. But as we walked further down the walls had transformed into a tiled surrounding. Then I felt pressure in my chest. We must have traveled father down than I thought. Soon we all had to pop our ears to maintain our balance.

Then we heard it.

Stomping.

Marching.

It was about thousands of feet stepping at the same time._ We have reached their home base. _

The tunnel came to an opening and I ran ahead of the group. I cautiously crouched down and peeked around the corner.

Everything was modern. They had ceramic flooring and stainless steel walls. And coming right up to the intersection of the tunnel and the lair was a ghostly army marching at the same rhythm. I felt the others come up and crouch behind me. "Are they close?" I heard Leo whisper into my ear.

"Yes, very. So please, keep your mouth shut." I slipped back to the wall as the undead group passed and I whispered a question to Annabeth. "Do you have your Yankees cap?"

Then Annabeth got her idea face. "Yes! But I think you just gave me a great idea."

Annabeth and Frank were the first part of the plan. Frank transformed into a ghostly like creature (which took a lot of tries) and Annabeth flicked on her magic cap and they trudged out into Gaea's base.

Leo, Jason and I stayed back thinking of a way to get across the 'sector area 1' as I heard one of the lieutenants say. "Only if Percy could just tell us where he is." Jason thought.

"That's it! I can communicate with him through the empathy link!" I said.

_Come on Percy- _I thought. _Just tell me where you are. _

I began to get an image of Piper struggling with a gag that restricted her from speaking and possibly breathing. I saw Percy fumbling to untie Tyson's gag, then the image quickly disappeared.

_I guess I'll try Tyson- _I thought. _Tyson, just show yourself to me. _

Tyson's image appeared. The same one where Percy was untying his gag, but it was from a different perspective this time. And up in the corner of the room I saw a sign that read- SECTOR 8- ROOM 12B.

_Yes! I got you now Gaea!_

"Guys, we have to get to sector 8 and fast."

"But how?" Leo asked. "We have no cover."

"Well," I thought. "I guess we'll do what the people do in the movies. Look for the dumb guys goofing of, knock 'em out and steel their clothes."

Jason sighed at my obvious idea. "It's our only option."

* * *

We saw two dead guys drinking Dunkin Donuts lattes over by the boys' bathroom. "So how do we get them?" I asked.

"Well I can taser them." Jason suggested. He demonstrated by having sparks of electricity dance on his fingertips.

"That's good. But how do we get the morons to come over here?" I asked.

We all tried brainstorming. I realized that it was a difficult task for them to accomplish.

Once in a while Leo would get an idea face then go back to thinking.

"Hey!" Jason came to an idea. "You're a daughter of Aphrodite right?"

"Yeah . . ." He looked at me like I was Jeremy Lin or something.

"Then do what Piper does."

"She does a lot of things." I sighed. "Be more specific."

He pursed his lips. "You know," He wave his hand around looking for the word. He began snapping. "Charm . . . Yeah, charm talk stuff. Whatever that is."

"Charm-speak?"

"Yeah. Charm-speak! I'm sure it works on ghosts."

"Okay," I sighed. "Here goes nothing." I started out of the tunnel when Leo pulled me back.

"Wait!" Leo said. "Fix your hair first for better effect." He tied a braid down my hair.

_How the heck does a boy, who is only good with machines, know how to freaking braid hair?_ I looked at him surprised. "What?" He blushed. "Like I said before, I'm not stupid."

I tucked back a fallen bang. "Yeah, that's good." Jason complemented me. "Now get out there!" He gave me a shove and before I knew it, I was approaching the dead.

"Um hi." I said in my highest girly voice. The ghostly men stared at me. Pedophiles . . . "You two look like you know your way around the sectors well. I need to get to the demigod section."

"Well, actually-" The first man started.

"We'd be happy to help you out." Interrupted the second man as he elbowed the first. "Barry and I are always eager to help young Aphrodite spawns." He raised an eyebrow at me. "I am actually the keeper of the demigods." He said and pulled out a clipboard. "Now what is your name, dear?"

Poop.

"Uhhhhhhhhh," I thought for a moment. "My name? Oh, right. My name issssss-Selena." Nice save Claire.

"Hmm. Your name _is_ on here," The second man said. "But your status says that you are dead." He circled me as if it was inspection day. "She looks live to me." He told Barry.

"Yeah Jim, her skin looks . . . healthy." Barry added. He reached out to touch my arm, but I squirmed away.

Now how was I going to get out of this one? I smiled sweetly at them. "The wonders of bronzer! The essential product of every girl." I replied. Jim looked satisfied with my answer.

"Alright then. I'll bring you to the demigod center." Jim said. He stood up and started walking in the opposite direction of the tunnel entrance where Jason and Leo stood prepared to attack. I looked back at them and they were looking at me like I was insane.

'Do something!' Jason mouthed. I had to think of something good and fast. I looked past the boys and saw the Dunkin Donuts store farther down.

"Before we go," I stopped them. "Can I . . . get a latte also?" I batted my eyes at Jim.

I could tell he didn't want to but I guess I could really charm-speak. "Of course sweetie." He answered. "Barry," He snapped. "go get her a latte."

"You want a latte?" Barry asked.

"Actually now that you mention it, I'm kind of in the mood for a venti half white mocha, half cafe vanilla, easy ice, with whipped cream or maybe a caramel drizzle frappachino-small. Whichever you think would be better." And I'm pretty sure that Dunkin Donuts has neither of those.

Barry stared at me blankly and finally said, "Okay."

"Thanks!" I smiled again and waved him off with a delicate hand. Now, I had to get Jim over there.

While Jim wasn't looking I saw Jason taser Barry in the side and drag him off.

_Ha! There's my golden door of opportunity! _"Oh, Jim." I asked innocently, "Where did Barry go?" Jim looked confused and went over to the Dunkin Donuts. He passed the tunnel entrance on the way.

He searched the tables and peeked into the restroom. He headed back to me. "He's not here." He scratched his head. "Where the hell would he havvvvvv-" Jim shook involuntarily and collapsed to the ground. Jason stood behind him smirking with his taser finger. I acted swiftly to help the boys take off the jumpsuits.

Leo and Jason stuffed Barry and Jim somewhere in the men's bathroom, while I got dressed in Barry's jumpsuit.

Barry was my height- where as Jim was around six foot something- but he was a wide man. So I punctured another hole into his belt just to hold my pants off of the ground.

Jason and Leo came out of the restroom in the most ridiculous costume ever. They both squeezed into Jim's jumpsuit and had two heads sticking out the top and the arms of the jumpsuit were hanging off of them. "Don't you think-"

"I tried to tell him." Jason said.

"What?" Leo jerked his head around so I could see him. "I'm not letting him sit on my shoulders if that was your idea."

I shook my head. "Lets just go guys." I replied. I silently mumbled, "idiots . . ."

* * *

And that's what we did. We walked around like a bunch of idiots in jumpsuits. But we did blend in. I found the elevator and it took a couple of tries to get Jason and Leo to cooperate to actually walk to the elevator. They obviously don't know the meaning of teamwork.

"Let me walk!"

"Okay left first."

"That's your right!"

"Fine right."

"Leo, your _right_."

"I know I'm right!"

"No! Not _you are_ right your right foot!"

"Oh!"

"That's still your left foot."

"But you said left first."

I had to push the open door button like ten times before they got to the elevator. Soon they got the hang of walking.

Almost.

"So we have to get to sector eight. If sector one was on the first floor, sector eight could possibly be on the eighth floor." I said as I punched the eighth button.

My stomach flopped as we reached our floor.

_2 . . . 5 . . . 7 . . . _

_What if security is here waiting for us? What happens if we're caught? Oh, Lordy. I should've thought this through more . . ._

* * *

**That was... interesting...**

**So, school's starting soon, and I plan to update every Thursday. Unfortunately, our story is coming to an end. Only about... four more chapters, I think? That's what it's coming to... I'm sad. :(**

**But there will be an epilouge and possible deleted work, scenes that I took our or did for fun. Haha. See you all next week!**

**-Eri ;)**


	14. Host Hopping

**Hey Fanfiction. I hope you are all excited to be back at school. I am! I missed all my friends.**

** HAHAHAHA! You all believed that I have friends! Phew- that was a good one.**

**Anyway, Here is some important info: Starting next week I am changing my update day to Wednesday. Yes, hump day. I have too many activities on Thursday now and my Wednesdays are a little more flexible. So I hope you don't mind...**

**I think that's all the announcements for now.**

**I hope you like this chapter. This is where the story rolls off the deep end and I don't know if that's a bad thing or a good thing.**

**-Eri :)**

**Disclaimer: I'm flattered if you think I'm Rick Riordan-the majority or even all of you know I'm not- I'm sorry to say that I'm just writing this based off of his original work. **

* * *

Chapter 14

My heart pounded as we lowered down to the last level of the sectors. My stomach lurched at every floor we hit and my breathing quickened it's pace. I guess you could say I was nervous.

_Sector 7 . . . _ Then the elevator stalled.

It.

Stalled.

The lights went out and I started panicking. "No!" I stomped on the floor which made the levitating room shake. "This can't be happening . . . What if we don't make it in time . . . What if Percy's already dead!?"

"It's a good thing we're not panicking." Jason muttered.

"Stop it Jason, this is serious!" I couldn't see him, but I could sense him shaking his head at me.

Leo lit the elevator with his fire and we all sat in a circle on the floor. "How long do you think we'll be here? If maintenance comes to fix this hunk of junk, they'll find us!"

"Chill out."

"I will not chill out, Leo. How can I? Knowing that our friends are just a floor below us is frustrating! Plus, this place is tiny, I feel cramped in here."

"Are you claustrophobic?" Jason asked.

"I am not claustrophobic! It's just creepy in here. It's like the darkness is closing in on us."

* * *

Out of the blue, everything froze and the darkness covered my sight. "AHHHHH!" _That's it. Gaea won and light shall be no more._

Okay, I overreacted.

Instead of Gaea raising and reigning over the world, a vision came to me of Percy. It was Percy in the Underworld with Nico gazing into the River Styx.

Wait- it wasn't even a vision, it was a memory from when Nico urged Percy to bathe in the Styx to become invulnerable a couple years ago before the big war. I watched them as Percy jumped in and struggled from being killed by the toxic acid that could potentially reap one's soul.

Percy came out hyperventilating, shivering, and sweating all at the same time. I watched him as Nico helped him calm down. I waited for more, but that's where the back flash ended.

* * *

Light flooded back into my pupils and Leo continued, "Yeah she's claustrophobic."

Whoa, what just happened? It was as if time had caught up and I was back into reality. Confusing.

I couldn't stop thinking about what that vision was for. I know that they don't come to you for no apparent reason, visions have a purpose.

About twenty minutes later of Jason playing with the electrical box we were moving again.

I truly thought that my heart was going to burst through my chest as we arrived to the eighth floor. The door opened with a _bing! _I closed my eyes in fear of what was to come. I reluctantly stepped out of the elevator.

A great weight was lifted off my chest to see that to our luck there was no security waiting for us. But then again, when has Nemesis ever been on our side? So of course, as I turn the corner I bump into none other than the ghost of Luke Castellan.

"Umph!" Well I thought I bumped into him, but instead I fell right through him, since he was a ghost and the boys didn't stop in time so I was crushed by the two of them.

"Hey!" Luke called. "What are you two- three doing here?" He said correcting himself. He looked at Jason and Leo in their ridiculous jumpsuit just to make sure there was two heads than one. They struggled to get off of me.

"Whoa. How did we get here?" Leo improvised- very poorly, if I may add.

Jason punched Leo in the arm inside the jumpsuit. "He's not stupid, Leo." Leo just snapped back a glare. Luke crossed his supernatural arms.

"What are you doing here?" He asked again. His cold blue eyes stared us down. It was impossible to break eye contact with him.

I puffed a frustrated sigh. "I'm saving the world. And for your information, there is nothing you can do that will stop me." I brushed past him.

"I know where your brothers are."

Well, I guess there was _one _thing he could say that would stop me because I stopped dead in my tracks.

I wondered why he would risk saying such things like that. If any of Gaea's lieutenants heard him, he'd be sucked into a vacuum before you could say 'Tartarus'. Another part of me wondered why he was giving this information so freely? There must have been something he wanted in return. And the thought of that just made me angrier.

I quickly turned on my heels to snatched up his shirt. I mean I tried to. I kept forgetting that he was ghostly. I shook out my hand in frustration. "Where are they then?" My voice was rough. Luke looked both ways to make sure no one was watching.

"I can tell you where, but I don't think you'd like to see them right now."

"What makes you think that?" I shouted. "Why would I not want to see my brothers, the ones who I traveled all the way here for?" I pointed to Leo. "I didn't come all this way with this guy blabbering in my ear just to have _you _tell me that I shouldn't see them right now."

"Hey!" Leo protested.

"-Because, it's not a pretty sight."

I stepped really close to the ghostly traitor, so close I felt the cool wisp of his soul. "Tell me where they are this instant." The words poured out through my clenched jaw.

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." He replied.

Luke told us that Percy, Tyson and Piper were being held hostage in room 12B. Like I didn't already know that! So I deducted that he was telling the truth. If he wasn't, I'd personally bring him to Hades and give him life so that I can just kill him again!

He pointed down the left hall and said, "Twelfth room on your right." Easy enough right?

"What's the catch?" Leo asked. "As soon as we leave you're gonna contact the others, right? Or maybe you're sending us down the wrong hall heading straight for an ambush!"

"Of course not."

"Quiet." Jason commanded. He leaned closer to Luke. "I don't know what my sister ever saw in you." He looked closely at Luke's blue eyes, as if searching for truth. "But I know she doesn't hang around with liars. If I find that you aren't telling the truth, believe me when I tell you this; I will fry you into the next millenia."

To tell you the truth, I don't think Luke was at all fazed by the threat.

* * *

I don't know what made Luke help us out. If he was really on Gaea's side he'd have tricked us, right? Something, though, in his eyes made me believe him. I remember what he looks like when he lies from Percy's memories and he didn't have that same pained expression.

The hall we entered was long and dark. It was covered in an old seventies rug that had coffee stains all over it. I at least hope that was coffee.

As we walked down the hall it became more gruesome. The lights became dimmer and soon began to flicker. The rug on the floor had begun to peel on the sides. If Luke had sent us down into a trap, which I surely doubt, I was going to kick him where the sun never shines! But it turned out that he was truthful, just like I thought.

We came to a door on our right that was labeled 12B. There was a window in the door, but it was cracked, sealed with duct tape and covered with a black garbage bag.

I looked at the door then back at the guys. "Are you ready?"

They nodded in unison. I realized that they still were in their ridiculous jumpsuit.

"First- Let's remove the jumpsuits." The agreed and we shed the ugly outfits. Once we were ready, I carefully turned the doorknob. All my muscles were tense expecting anything to pop out and grab me from the room.

We entered the room. It was dome shaped covered in sod. The lighting was dark and very dim. And a pungent smell of manure overwhelmed my nose. The floor was covered in footprints and tire tracks of a large machine. Attached on the walls were old, rusted shackles meant for prisoners. I glanced over to the corner and found Tyson tied up and wrapped in a gag. "Tyson!" I called and ran to untie him.

"Jason!" Piper squealed. The embraced each other so sweetly, that if I had my soul, I'd probably cry.

"It's okay Tyson. I got you Big Guy." I carefully untied his gag but froze when I heard Gaea's voice cackle from behind. It was different though, like her voice was distorted.

"Well! Here comes _Claire _to the _rescue! _The poor girl thinks she can actually _save _Olympus!"

I whirled around and stood face to face with the new host of Gaea.

* * *

"Percy?" I exclaimed. I covered my mouth and stumbled backwards from shock. _Percy wasn't untying Tyson in the empathy link, he was gagging him._

"Oh! You like my new look?" Gaea's voice slithered out of my brother's mouth. Percy struck a pose. "He suits me doesn't he?"

"W-what did you d-do to him?" I said as I backed away from my possessed brother. Was I imagining it? No, it was really Percy. He had the same air, the same clothes, and even his voice. The only thing different was his eyes. They were no longer green, now they were like Gaea's- light brown.

"Oh, I warned you. I told you that if you didn't give yourself up that bad things would happen." It scared me to see Gaea's mannerisms on Percy's body. He checked his nails as a girl would, flipping his hand to get a better angle each time. "Now you see what you did Claire? You hurt your poor brother. You should be ashamed! Each and every one of you." Percy stepped closer to me waggling his finger.

"No you should be ashamed!" Leo barked. His palms flashed with flames. Gaea/Percy strolled over to Leo.

"Now, now, Leo. You don't want to set this place on fire and trap us all in here, do you?" Leo stared blankly into space and then began to scare. He looked as if he was having a bad dream, or remembering some horrible memory. Gaea was manipulating Leo's mind.

I took hold of Percy's shirt and brought the goddess face to face with me just as I attempted to do with Luke's ghost. "You let Leo alone!" I dropped her down and yelled to Leo who was being mentally tortured. It was as if his soul was being attacked from the inside. He started screaming as if his mind was in a whole other world that tortured him. "Leo, don't listen to her! She lies!" I yelled. I just hoped that he could hear me.

She dusted herself off and got up. "I do many things little half blood, but I do not lie." _Now that was a lie._

Jason used his electric powers and zapped Gaea. "Ow!" Percy yelped. "Jeez Jason, that hurt." It was Percy's voice. His real voice.

"Percy," I exclaimed. "It's you!"

"What?-" Then it suddenly changed back to Geaa.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" His/her eyes filled with rage. "He's mine! He'll never come back to you! Percy is lost forever."

I didn't believe that dirty liar for one second! Get it? Dirty, as in the _earth _goddess? Bad pun, and it's definitely not the right time. "Let him go, or I'll-"

"You'll what?" Percy stuck out his tongue. Although he's possessed by a goddess of who knows what age, he is still a bit immature.

I quickly went and clasped Percy's hands behind his back. "You're not invincible anymore!" I yelled. I felt a my heart cringe as I bound my brothers hands behind him. I never thought there would be a day that I had to go against the one who I was created after. It pained me.

"Of course Percy is! How in Tartarus do you think he can host me! He bathed in the Styx again!" Gaea's raspy voice rang out. _That's why I got that vision in the elevator. Someone was trying to inform me about Percy wading into the Styx again._

Crap, Percy had the strength to kill me. Gaea had the motivation to kill me. Plus, now she had the protection of invulnerability. My day just keeps getting better and better.

_How can I destroy Gaea without killing my brother in the process? This is not where the child of Poseidon dies, it has to be me. I has to._

My vision blurred and a video image played in my mind.

* * *

_"The knife, Percy," Annabeth muttered. Her breath was shallow. "Hero . . . cursed blade . . ."_

_When my vision came back into focus, I saw Kronos grasping his sword. Then he bellowed in pain and dropped it. His hands were smoking and seared. The hearth fire had grown red-hot, like the scythe wasn't compatible with it. I saw an image of Hestia flickering in the ashes, frowning at Kronos with disapproval._

_Luke turned and collapsed, clutching his ruined hands. "Please, Percy . . ."_

_I struggled to my feet. I moved toward him with the knife. I should kill him. That was the plan._

_Luke seemed to know what I was thinking. He moistened his lips. "You can't . . . can't do it yourself. He'll break my control. He'll defend himself. Only my hand. I know where. I can . . . can keep him controlled."_

_He was definitely glowing now, his skin starting to smoke._

_I raised the knife to strike. Then I looked at Annabeth, at Grover cradling her in his arms, trying to shield her. And I finally understood what she'd been trying to tell me._

You are not the hero, _Rachel had said. _It will affect what you do.

_"Please," Luke groaned. "No time."_

_If Kronos evolved into his true form, there would be no stopping him. He would make Typhon look like a playground bully._

_The line from the great prophecy echoed in my head: _A hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. _My whole world tipped upside down, and I gave the knife to Luke._

_Grover yelped. "Percy? Are you . . . um . . ."_

_Crazy. Insane. Off my rocker. Probably._

_But I watched as Luke grasped the hilt._

_I stood before him- defenseless._

_He unlatched the side straps of his armor, exposing a small bit of his skin just under his left arm, a place that would be very hard to hit. With difficulty, he stabbed himself. (RICK RIORDAN, THE LAST OLYMPIAN)_

* * *

Whoa, did I just blank out? That's been happening more often. My grip let loose on my brother and Gaea stumbled away from us.

_That's how to destroy Gaea. Percy has to gain control._ I prayed to all of the gods on Olympus that he doesn't have to kill himself in the process. "Percy!" I called. I locked eyes with him. I could not tell if it was just Gaea staring back at me, but I knew he saw me even for a measly second. I'm pretty sure he understood. "You must take control."

The other demigods understood where I was going. We all surrounded Percy. Gaea uncapped Riptide, but we continued to close in on him.

"You can do it Percy." Jason encouraged. "You're stronger than her and we _all _know it."

"Go, big brother!" Tyson bellowed.

"Percy," Leo said, "YOU are the pilot of YOUR own life!"

"LEO!" Jason and I scolded in unison.

"Leo, shut up! I'm trying to concentrate!" Percy chastised. Wait- it really _was _Percy. He gasped. "I think I . . . have it!" Then his right arm involuntarily jerked out to the side. "Well I have dominance over my mouth." Then his arm started repetitively slapping his face. "Wow, Gaea. Real mature. Ow." His left hand blocked his right.

It was like seeing a person with multiple personalities arguing with himself. "Alright," Percy said after he gained authority over his own body. "Now how do we get this woman OUTTA ME!"

My mind started racing in hyper speed. We need to chase Gaea out of Percy. We can't force her out. That won't work. Maybe we could make Percy think of something really disgusting, weird, teenage-boyish thoughts and she'll be so traumatized that she'd have to leave her host. No, that's stupid.

We need to have her decide to leave Percy. She needs to come out on her own. We need to coax her out with a bribe. Now, what does she want? She wants a host. What if we introduced her to another host, someone better, someone . . . someone like me.

"Gaea." I said sternly. Percy's head quickly snapped in my direction. "Leave Percy unharmed," I gulped wondering if this was the right decision, but it was too late to back out now. "and I'll be your host."

Percy blinked and was possessed by Gaea once again for his eyes changed from green to brown. "Oh goody!" He clapped his hands. "Now get ready, Claire _Jackson_." Gaea cackled. "You're going to feel a slight- actually a _lot_ of pain!" Gaea's spirit escaped Percy and fluttered over to me.

I closed my eyes and waited for the impact.

_This is it. Goodbye world, I promise, the damage my body does to your existence will not be my own doing. This is my destiny. I was made for this. Percy shall live and I shall die so that Gaea will rise. My life goes within this moment. My control will be completely lost. Right now-_

My shoulders tensed and I scrunched my nose waiting for her disturbing thoughts to take over.

I opened one eye and then the other. Nothing happened. I didn't feel different. "What just happened?" I asked aloud.

"I don't know . . ." Jason said wide eyed. "Are you a-a h-host?"

"I don't feel like it." I admitted. "I feel the same. I don't have half a mind telling me to overthrow Olympus right now."

"That's because I'm out here, you dimwits." Gaea said over to the far left of us. She was in Leo's body. He crossed his arms and huffed. "You could've mentioned that you have no soul to invade Miss Claire."

_I forgot that I have no soul. That's why she can't posses me. _"My presence was sucked into the nearest unguarded soul. No matter though, this body will do just fine." Leo grinned from ear to ear evilly. He raised his palms up and sparked up big flames. Alarm grew on his face and he quickly snuffed the fire out. "Ouch! That's _hot!" _Gaea's voice exclaimed.

Suddenly I remembered what Nico had told me long ago when he discovered my being of a demigod. 'When demigods' emotions are heightened their powers are more sensitive.' That's how I caused that gigantic wave. And if Gaea doesn't like the fire, then maybe we have to crank up the heat.

Leo tripped over his own shoelace. "Yeah, great choice Gaea. He's definitely the shiniest penny in the piggybank." Jason mocked.

"He can't even walk straight!" Piper jeered.

"Oh, shut it!" Leo snapped back- and it really _was _Leo this time.

He quickly changed back to Gaea. "Eh, he's still a host. What can you do?" He shook his head and replied to himself . . . ?

"HEY!" Leo yelled. "Why is it that I'm just a joke? You guys always make fun of me, the _gods _make fun of me, the _mother _of all creation makes fun of me, stupid, fanfiction writers make fun of me. Why is it that you all think I'm some big idiotic dope!" His head began smoking. _His emotions are heightening! His powers are becoming more unpredictable. I'm quite scared of these next few moments but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do . . ._

I egged him on one last time. "Well, that's because you don't think before you talk. You just blabber on and on-" I rolled my eyes as if mocking him. Now, Leo was really smoking hot. Oh my gods. I never thought I'd say those words in the same sentence without will-never-be in between them.

"Stop it!" He whined. Just like what happened to me, Leo's hair burst into flames.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! GET IT OFF!" Gaea's raspy voice screamed as Leo ran around frantically. Gaea's spirit escaped Leo and was physically in front of us. His flame flickered out.

"Oh my stars!" She panted.

I didn't even hesitate. I ran over to the goddess with an uncapped Riptide II and held it to her throat.

"Claire- wait!" Piper yelled. "Don't forget."

I sighed. I really wanted to slice this titan into bits. "I'd kill you on the spot, you unworthy, ruthless, horrible excuse of a goddess. But first I need some info." I breathed. "Tell me where the Doors of Death are." I dug my sword deeper into her neck.

"Alright! Okay, okay. I'll tell you!" She held her hands up in surrender. "_Not!" _The goddess vanished into thin air leaving behind a note. Sure she disappeared, but none of us doubted that she was somewhere near waiting for us to let our guard down.

I picked up her eco friendly note.

_You really think I'd just tell you where the doors are? Goodness sakes, child! You really are your father!_

_Mother Gaea_

_P.S.- Look out behind you._

"Look behind me?" I mumbled. That was the cue for an angry ghost/zombie stampede. I didn't really get to take the time to notice which it was. Ghosts, apparently, are paler and get sunburned easier, whereas zombies have a greenish tint to their skin pigment because of mold spores. Never mind. This isn't Dead 101. That was Octavian's class.

My breathing accelerated as I watched the army advancing on us from behind. "Guys-" I yelled. "Get ready!"

"Not without us." Annabeth materialized next to me. She took her Yankees cap and shoved it in her pocket and unsheathed her dagger. I wondered where she came from. If we weren't in the middle of a battle I'd have it out with her for just staying hidden the entire time of us dealing with Gaea's hosts.

"Yeah. We're not letting you go it alone." Frank transformed out of nowhere. Frank shrugged "Chameleons. Who knew?" He took out his bow and arrows that he 'borrowed' from the sector 5 weaponry.

"Time kick butt." Tyson stated with his stick in his hands. We all nodded. "PEANUT BUTTER!" Was his battle call. Within that moment, we all charged out of room 12B and into the dome of sector eight.

What a stupid idea. We charged at an army, that _can't _be killed, that was armed with weapons that _can _kill us. Great. Just awesomeness. But to be fair, this was the highlight of my day. What a sad, sad life I lived. And thinking back on it, it was messed up more than Apollo without mirrors.

I slashed at the enemy as it headed towards me and I think I killed about . . . zero. Like I said. Dead army. Pretty smart for a woman made of dirt. I ran through the crowd of ghosts without getting too beat up. I got cut across the inside of my elbow pretty bad, but that's about it. I watched from the other side of sector eight. I clutched my elbow to staunch the flow of blood. It stung a little worse than five beestings but less than Clairsse shish-kabobing you with Maimer. I watched the others make their way through the deceased.

One of the soldiers looked exactly like Ethan. And he charged directly at me.

He backed me up against the wall. "I'm sorry, Claire. It's a good thing I didn't really know you when I was alive, or this might really hurt me." He took out a dual dagger. It had two prongs that were serrated on all the edges. I could tell that pain was waiting for me in the very near future!

I uncapped Riptide II and blocked his attack. He kept aiming for my neck which I guess was my weakest defending point. My arm didn't really bend at that angle, but I continued to counter each assault. I tried slashing at him, but celestial bronze had no affect on spirits.

with one good swing, Ethan whisked Riptide II out of my hands. I was defenseless and originally, defense was my only option. Now I had nothing. I covered my head with my arms as Ethan lifted his dagger.

There was excruciating pain and blood every- no there wasn't. I didn't feel a thing, though I was sure he attacked for I heard him grunt as he pulled the dagger down upon me. I looked up to see his attack again, but when he struck six inches from my head, I saw a ripple that glowed like an invisible shield. Becoming frustrated, Ethan began continuously banging on the shield.

At first I was puzzled, but then I realized that the shield was radiating from my ring. Instantly, I knew my father was with me, giving me strength. Another ghost came and bumped into Ethan knocking him down. I ran to the elevator and examined the fight.

The others were putting up a good fight, but there was no way we could kill all of the dead. They were impossible to defeat. The only way was-

"WHY DID YOU STUFF ME UNDER A BUSH!" Nico hobbled towards me from out of nowhere with branches and leaves stuck all over him.

"Nico!" I ran up and hugged him with all i had, but winced when my wound came in contact with his jacket. "You!" I exclaimed. "You are the only one that can defeat an army like this!"

Nico looked at me like I had three heads. "You remember when I just passed out back there?" He gestured toward the entrance. "That was a smaller army. This- now, this is too much." He was right. this army was about triple the last one.

I looked at him with all seriousness. "Please? If we don't try now, there is no world to come back to. No place to run."

He dragged his hand through his leafy hair and huffed. "Claire, I'll die if- I don't have enough power."

That's when I remembered what Hephaestus told me right after my birth. "Nico, you have limited _energy. _Not limited power."

"Where the heck am I going to get more energy?" He threw his hands into the air.

Just then something sparkly caught my eye. Rubies, diamonds, sapphires and other precious stones that I can't name, rose from the ground and spelled out. ELLA. That was Hazel's sign! Ella is safe with Hazel. The rubies gave me an idea. "I'll be your extra energy boost." I said to Nico.

"How in _all _of the Underworld are you-" I picked up one of the stones. As soon as I touched it, I felt "Stop! It's-"

"Cursed? I know." I replied. "Does it even matter with me?" Nico frowned at my point. "Hazel's energy is still radiating from these stones." I took a bunch in my hand. I took hold of Nico's hand with my free hand as I looked up and smiled at him. A tingle went from my fingertips to his. Was this the slightest feeling of love or just the energy passing through? "Go on." I said.

I closed my eyes as Nico took his stygian iron sword in his left hand and stabbed it into the ground as he had done the other time. Suddenly I felt a strong pull from the emeralds and rubies go through my body and out of my fingertips. It felt terrible. The life was draining out of me and My vision blurred. Some how- I think I collapsed. I'm not sure though for the feeling in my legs had become numb before I blacked out.

* * *

**I think I'm the one who's of her rocker. This chapter is messed up. Completely mutilated. Eh, well it's all I got at the moment. I think I'm all 'typed out'. **

**Good night readers. I'd appreciate it if you'd review! **

**-Eri ;D**


	15. Easy, Peasy, Lemon Squeezy

**So... Last chapter was a very confusing chapter. Here's a recap: **

**Gaea took Percy's body as a host. Claire offered her body instead of Percy's. Gaea took Claire up on her offer, but since Claire has no soul Claire cannot host another being. Gaea's spirit invaded the nearest 'unguarded' soul, which was Leo's. Gaea cannot handle fire flaming on her. Leo's head went up in flames and Gaea's spirit escaped Leo's body and physically existed in the air. Claire threatened the earth goddess and Gaea disappeared. *Cue the ghostly army, blah, blah, blah... Yeah. That's where we ended. Sorry for the confusion. I hope that cleared things up! :)**

**Now, this chapter is the beginning of the end...**

**-Eri :)**

**Disclaimer: One can only dream to be like Rick.**

* * *

Chapter 15

The majority of the army was flushed down into a hole created by Nico. He told me that he actually opened Tartarus.

Freaking Tartarus.

The rest of the army fled, but Annabeth figured out how to kill them. She realized that Nico's stygian sword could affect creatures from the Underworld. Frank was sent to Sector 5 weaponry again and to take some affective swords, daggers and arrows.

But before all of that, I blacked out and collapsed into Nico's arms- Or so they tell me.

_Apparently,_ when using another energy source, you drain the entire object's energy before using your own. I did not know that before. That explains why Nico had used up all of myenergy. Every last drop.

So, I woke up in a long tunnel with the others standing over me.

My eyes fluttered open and I saw Piper sigh in relief, and I decided to say something really witty to break the awkward silence. "Nico, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." A Wizard of Oz reference. You get it right? No one got it.

"Claire, we were never in Kansas." Nico looked alarmed. "Oh gods, she's lost it." I forgot, Nico spent seventy years in the Lotus casino. I guess they never showed the Wizard of Oz in their Cinemas.

"No, Nico-"

"What if she forgot about the prophecy too?" He began pacing around.

"Nico-"

"What if she forgot me?"

I sighed. "Nico-"

"Claire, don't you remember-"

"NICO! I'm fine!"

"What? Then why did you-"

"It was a joke. Sarcasm. Ever heard of it?"

"I don't get it." He said plainly.

"Obviously. Now where are we?" I asked Annabeth.

"Not in Kansas . . . " Leo mumbled. I shot him a glare and Annabeth continued.

* * *

We were in sector 5, where Annabeth and Frank had been before. Frank told me that they found the doors of death. It took up the whole floor of sector B16. Sixteen sectors down into the basement. It gave me chills already. Tyson distributed our new weapons and I was handed a dagger. I already hate it.

We stepped onto the elevator smushed up against each other. It was really tight.

Leo did a jerk of his head, next to me. "Hey, is the darkness closing in on you now?" I gritted my teeth to prevent me from biting him.

"Shut it." I hissed, he did. I would never admit it, but Leo was right. Being in such a dark place made me feel like I was all the way at the beginning again, when Hepheastus was waking me up from my 'rebooting'.

And as if it wasn't enough to have Frank, Leo, Jason, Piper, Percy, Tyson, Annabeth, Nico and I stuffed into a small space, out of a black shadow comes Hazel. She fell on top of us. Great.

"OW!" everyone groaned in unison.

_"Really?"_ Frank rubbed his head. "Oh! Hey, Hazel!" Suddenly realizing his girlfriend just fell from the sky, he pulled her close and hugged her.

Piper, Annabeth and I 'Aww'-ed and the guys, besides Frank, who was paying attention to no one but Hazel, groaned. For that, Piper and Annabeth hit their boyfriends. I got to whack Nico _and _Leo. Lucky me.

"I didn't know you could shadow travel." Nico stated.

"Me neither. I decided that if you could, then I could too." Hazel stood tall and proud of her accomplishment but extremely tired at the same time. I could tell that it took a lot to just keep her eyes open.

"I'm proud of you." Nico commended her.

I was squished up against Leo, Jason, Percy and Tyson. And let me tell you, I'm not quite sure when the last time they used deodorant was, but I was sure as Hades that they needed some.

The elevator dinged and we piled out. "Good lord! I can BREATHE!" I exclaimed and I stumbled onto a rock to rest for a bit. Jason smirked at me. "What?"

"Claustrophooooobic!" Leo sang in a sing-songy voice.

We looked around the sector. The sod walls were falling from some weird erosion. All the way at the end I saw were two big latched medieval doors. To be specific, the Doors of Death. Everyone became serious.

I quietly pulled Nico aside.

"You have to stay here." I instructed Nico.

"Uh, no." He protested. "You aren't getting rid of me that easily." He tried to brush past me to the others.

I gripped his shoulders. "You're the only one that can defeat the ghost armies that keep replenishing. You need to stand guard." I gestured toward the elevator. "Large groups can't all come down at once. You can handle nine ghosts at a time, right?"

"Actually the ghosts can just seep through the floor. The undead need to come down the elevator."

"That proves my point even more. You know about these types of things. The dead and all of that crazy stuff."

Nico looked very solemn. "If I stay here who the heck's gonna watch your back?"

Nico has been there for me ever since I came to the surface of this world. He's done everything for me. "But I can take care of myself now." Nico frowned.

"No, you can't. No one can escape a prophecy."

I smiled weakly at him. It wasn't a very convincing smile, but I had to be happy. I had to make Nico feel better one last time. "I'll be fine."

Something in me whispered: _Just do it. _And I did the boldest thing that I ever- well, just ever. I took his face in my grungy hands and kissed him. It was a goodbye kiss, the saddest of all kinds. At first he was shocked and then he kissed back.

I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him. I tried to memorize everything about that hug. His arms around me, his smell, and the feeling of never letting go. And even though I didn't know it then, it was my last hug that I'd ever get from him. "See you." I said.

I left.

He stayed.

I looked back one last time to see him wave at me and then I ran down the hall to catch up with the others.

* * *

"Is it them?" Piper asked.

"It's them." Annabeth confirmed. We just stared at it in awe at the doors that we've been taking FOREVER to find.

"We actually-" I began, but was interrupted by that raspy voice we all know and hate.

"You made it!" Gaea looked at me. "Now, the prophecy says one of you will die, correct? Ennie, meeny, miny, moe." She eyed me as she said that. "Come on now, don't be shy."

"Stay, Claire." Percy stated. Great, _now_ he tries to be the hero.

I restrained him from stepping forward. "No Percy, you can't-"

"I will." He fired back. He took a step forward to Gaea.

"No." I pushed him back. "If you die, dad's bound to kill me. So either way I'm dead!" He stared at me like he was mad for making a valid point.

"Stop!" He fought me pretty hard. "Claire!" I pushed him back so hard, Annabeth almost missed catching him.

"Is someone going to die or what?" Gaea said growing impatient. "I have a schedule to keep up with, you know!"

"Now hold on. I think you should understand that _you're_ the one who is going to die." The words slithered out of my mouth.

"I can't die, you idiotic halfblood. If anything, I return to a deep slumber." She scoffed at my stupidity.

I was annoyed with her. "Get a sword and fight me like a man!" I yelled.

Gaea rolled her eyes. "I'm not a man!"

"Fine! Like a- a manly woman!"

"Nor am I a woman! I am a goddess!" Well, that backfired.

"Oh, just get up and fight me!" I unsheathed the stygian dagger and I slashed at her. I sliced deeply into her arm. Unfortunately, like in Percy's battle with our half-brother Anteus, Gaea's wounds would heal if she stood on the ground. And there were no dangling chains in sight. So the next best option . . . I don't know.

"If you think you couldn't kill my ghost army, how do you suppose you can kill me?" The ground grumbled underneath me making it unbearable to keep balance.

Out of the ground grew warriors of mud. They turned to the other halfbloods and began attacking them with swords of celestial bronze. "What was that for?" I asked swiping through Gaea's midsection.

"Eh, just so your friends don't become bored with your effortless death." She covered me with dirt. It nearly choked the life out of me!

The dirt was moist and I pulled with the power of Poseidon to evaporate the water in the earth that covered me. The dirt became brittle and stiff, it fell off like dust.

I dug my heels into the ground and willed a geyser to emerge. The earth groaned, but no geyser appeared. "Aw, the little earth shaker wants to scare me with her tremors? I'm quaking in my sandals!" Gaea scoffed and pulled out a stygian sword of her own.

_One touch . . . _ I thought. One touch of that sword and I'm dead. She made a swing for my head and I thought I was a goner, but my geyser had the right timing. _Woosh! _Her weapon was lifted into the air by water and disappeared.

I looked at my opponent and her hand had disintegrated from becoming moist with the water, though it quickly grew back. An idea came into my head. Not a great one, but it'll work . . .

With all my power, I pulled from the deepest part of my gut and created another geyser again. Except this time I caught Gaea in it. She rose above me and her entire body was flowing right off of her into the water. It's like when you build a sand castle too near the shore and the tide rushes over it creating erosion. It was as if she was melting. The wicked witch of the west was melting! And so was her army of mud people. They began to fall apart into the ground.

As the geyser came to an end, I caught her in my arms- or at least the rest of her. I held her tightly restraining her from any escaping tricks. The earth goddess looked as if she was terribly anorexic. She was just skin and bones, her skull was even a bit demented.

She breathed in short gasps. "This only sets back my plan by a short time. Soon I will regain strength!"

"Slay her now." Percy said. "Send that witch into Tartarus."

She cackled a cackle that ended in a loud cough. "Tartarus? The Doors of Death are open, boy! The moment you _slay_ me I will reform fully at the entrance over there."

"But we can send you deeper into Tartarus." Hazel stepped forward. Everything- even breathing- was hushed.

"How exactly, my dear? You are not smart enough nor old enough to have obtained that type of information."

"A special harpy of mine told me that curses don't go so well with the immortal." Gaea's eyes narrowed.

Hazel took a wide stance and focused on her power. She called as many rubies and diamonds as possible. Emeralds, sapphires came flying at Gaea. Hazel was very careful not to let the jewels touch us. Soon the goddess was covered in the cursed stones. As soon as all of the sand ran out of her wounds her cursed jewels vanished with her. "We will not be dealing with her for a very long time." Hazel stated.

"Did you really just-" Jason stumbled while looking for the words to find.

"It couldn't be that easy." Piper said.

"I've come to a conclusion." Said Annabeth. "Gaea is not the battling type. She does not engage in violence often. She has others do her dirty work for her, such as her army."

Leo laughed. "Dirty work . . ."

"So that's it. Gaea's actually . . . gone?" I asked. Hazel nodded. We all ran up and hugged her. A great group hug that made us all feel better.

"Now time to finish what we came here for." Frank reminded us. Before we could even head to the open doors that were seeping a spooky mist, Nico came running down the hallway yelling.

"THEY BROKE THE ELEVATOR! THEY COMING IN ONE BIG MOB!"

They came pouring into the mud filled room. They were led by, the one and only, Octavian. He had that permanent scowl painted on his face, only a deeper scowl than usual. "Don't. Touch. Those. Doors." He whispered in a coarse tone.

Jason put his lance up, ready to fight. "Oh, there will be no fighting." Octavian snapped his fingers and the army vanished. "That was a holographic projection just to intimidate you. However, if it comes to it, my army is guarding the sector heavily and will be at my service in a heart beat." Octavian's left eye twitched.

I whispered his name, not meaning for it to be audible. "Octavian-" He marched over to us.

"Save it, Claire. No one can try to talk me out of this." He didn't even look at me when he said that.

"But, why? Why did you do this?" I ventured on. I dared to step closer to him. "Don't we at least deserve to know?"

"You're the one to talk." He replied nastily. "You know the very reason why I sided with Gaea."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but," I pursed my lips. "I wouldn't have asked if I knew."

"It's because of you!" He yelled. "And Rachel! And everybody else!" I took a few steps back. "You and Rachel somehow knew about this _prophecy_ that never would have come to me without your help. Prophecies are _my _thing. It's all I have!"

He seemed to be getting taller now, or maybe it was just his voice creating the illusion. "Prophecies are all I can do! I can't heal, I can't use a bow and arrow, I have no musical talent whatsoever! My mom was the child of Apollo, not me!"

_The false demigod! _His breath started calming down.

"So, you're a quarter blood?" Leo asked scratching his head. Octavian threw his ceremonial knife at him, but missed. Leo almost wet his pants. Actually, I think he did.

"And when Rachel, a regular _mortal_, could speak more prophecies than me . . . How do you think I felt? How do you think I still feel?" He stared at me. "And you, the new demigod, not even a _real _demigod, knew about a secret prophecy!"

"You sided with Gaea because you can hold a grudge?" Annabeth asked. "Not the wisest decision-"

"Oh, shut it bird brain!" Octavian snapped. "I'm not that foolish. I had more reasons than just one. For gods sakes! Not being allowed to become praetor is completely outrageous!" His breathing hitched and he continued to seethe his words. "Reyna and the senate wouldn't allow me to even apply for the position. I've been a member of the camp longer than Reyna has, and even some of the senate members. I should have been entitled to the job because of seniority. I was at the camp before Jason- and don't get me started when Percy was pronounced praetor." His face fumed and turned the color purple.

You read that right. Purple.

"I could sense a Greek the moment that _thing _stepped foot into the Little Tiber." He pointed at Percy. "He created _underdogs _out of the fifth cohort. It turned the entire custom of the Romans upside down! And to make it all worse, everyone just embraced the changes of a Greek!"

"So all of you anger comes from us Greeks?" Piper questioned.

Octavian smiled sinisterly, which was becoming a disturbing habit of his. "It appears that it always roots back to the Greeks. But don't worry, I'm out for the Romans too." He glowered at Frank and Hazel. "For they turned their backs on me and made me an outcast."

"But why would you turn to Gaea and not seek your own revenge?"

"Gaea promised me power over her entire army and the sibylline books. That way, I'd know more than even the gods themselves!"

"But they're burned." Percy replied.

"True. Although, Gaea told me of a special little harpy that knows more than enough." He eyed Tyson.

Tyson's eye teared. "Don't hurt Ella!" He was about to attack Octavian when Hazel told him that Ella was safe. He finally calmed down, but there were still flames of hatred burning in his eye.

"So what other offer would've been better?" Octavian continued. "My spot as praetor was never going to work no matter who I blackmailed. And please, do you think the senate actually likes me? My own grandfather doesn't even acknowledge me when he comes to see his children at Camp Jupiter!" He looked at me with those ice blue eyes. "Gaea promised me a life to look forward to. That's why I stole the business card that Gaea gave you. I IMed her right away and agreed to the deal."

_That's what happened to my business card!_

"Well, it's too late now. She's back in slumber." I reminded him.

"All is not lost. Gaea gave me a backup plan." He pulled out a yellow notepad.

Gaea had a freaking check list.

"Number one- destroy demigods. Number two- deconstruct the doors of death. Number three- raise Agrios."

"Who is Agrios?" I questioned.

"Who is Agrios? This is Agrios!" A horribly tall giant jumped down from the broken elevator causing the ground to shake. "One of the great Giantes!" Agrios roared loudly. "The bane of the Fates!" Agrios glared his red beady eyes at me. "He will rise and create a new world where lives don't depend on a snip of a string, a perfect world." The giant smiled wickedly baring his decaying teeth.

Agrios attacked. _Why do the Fates cause so much trouble? _I thought. I unsheathed Riptide II and defended myself. Agrios trapped me in between his toes, knocking Riptide II out of my grasp. _Disgusting! _It was smellier than Smelly Gabe, if you can imagine it.

I wriggled out from under his foot and grabbed my sword. The giant tried to stomp on me again, but I sidestepped and skewered Riptide II right through his foot. The immortal bellowed in pain as gray gunk gushed out of the open wound. "Blood's not supposed to look like that." I commented. "You should really get that checked out."

I soon found out that Agrios doesn't like sarcasm. He picked me up by the back of my shirt as if I was as light as a feather. He clumped up some of the other demigods also in the other hand. I slashed at his knuckles and at the web of his hand. I believe I heard Piper scream in terror, "Please don't kill me! Just let me live!"

Agrios actually responded with words. "Life? You want life? You can have _afterlife._ Oh wait-" He laughed wickedly. "There be no afterlife in new world." He threw his hands into the air and set us flying as if we were confetti.

I fell into the dirt wall and almost broke my neck, but I trudged on. I walked up to the big bully and paused. "Let go of my friends. Release my world."

"Let me think about dat." He scratched his hairy chin. "No."

I suddenly felt power surge throughout my body. All of my emotions heightened and I felt strong.

Powerful.

Focused.

I dropped my sword and all of the power that was built up inside of me came flowing out of my mouth in the form of a scream. "AHHHHHHHH!" Before my eyes I saw water, fire, and dirt being released in the direction of Agrios.

"NO!" Octavian yelled as he fell to his knees as I fell on my face. Screaming sure did take a lot out of me. Through my blurred vision, I saw what he was devastated about. All of the elements I called on blasted the vengeful giant through the floor of the Underworld.

No one spoke in fear of breaking silence. "Tartarus." Nico said. "I can feel it. He's in Tartarus."

Octavian flailed his arms in rage. "No! Why does everyone always go out after me! Why do the Fates hate me! They always foil my plans even when I try to do good. This is unfair. I thought Nemesis was on my side . . ." Octavian began to sob.

"Octavian, give it a rest-" I started.

"No." He said firmly. He wiped the dampness from his cheeks. "I will follow through with Gaea's plans." He frowned at a loss of an idea, until he finally got one. "_I_ will create the new world." Then he started rambling on. "_I_ have the sibylline books, _I_ know about potions and healing and prophecies. _I_ know magic. _I_ don't need some tall oaf! _I_ can transfer my mortal soul into an immortal body!" He turned to look at me. "An immortal body that contains the most human-like materials." He stared at my limbs, probably wondering where Hephaestus got the materials. Or maybe something even more evil . . .

"Octavian," I said. "Don't. It's unnatural. I know from first hand experience."

"Hush!" He ran to me and grasped my hands. "I can give you your last chance at survival, Claire." He looked into my eyes.

I looked into his, but only say distortion. His mind was completely unstable. "Come on Octavian, you can't do this. Put your effort into something better, this- this is a task that is impossible and to what benefit?"

He scowled at me. "We need a change. There _will_ be a change, but sadly, you all won't be able to enjoy it." Octavian grinned evilly. "Only I will be able to survive. Prometheus will create a whole new race, not necessarily human. But I will be the only reminder of this past world!"

Thunder boomed at the name of Prometheus. The spirits of the deceased demigods appeared at the sound. "Is it over? Are we transferring into the new world now?" Castor asked.

"I can't wait to live, again!" Selena chimed.

"Oh please. Do you really think Gaea was _actually _going to let you live? Good gods, she can bring you out of the underworld, but she can't work miracles." He laughed at his own joke.

"She promised." Beckendorf grunted.

"That's what I _told you _so that you would cooperate with me, and I can't believe you fell for it." Octavian was so distraught, I think he didn't know what he was saying.

"You lied to us." Luke glared at his prey.

"I didn't _lie. _I just enticed you with empty words." He said sardonically. _If Octavian doesn't watch his tongue . . ._

Zoe Nightshade glared at the augur. "Thou shall die one thousand painful deaths by my right hand."

"Crap." Octavian became nervous. "Oh, uh- Come on now. Sure, I lied, but I'm pretty sure we can work something out, friends."

"Friends? You have never, once, though of any of us as a friend. Now, you are our enemy." The ghostly halfbloods quickly closed in on him and attacked Octavian.

I covered my eyes because I could not bare the sight. Octavian was evil, but he was still human, hungry and greedy for power. No one should withstand torture for being human.

"Noo! Stop! Please, I beg of you!" I heard shrieks and screams come from Octavian, and then the noises stopped. I looked up to see Frank, Nico, Leo, Jason and Percy on one knee with their heads bowed. Hazel, Annabeth and Piper huddled together silently sobbing. I realized that our enemy, once a friend and brother in our half-blood family was gone.

It wasn't like seeing Luke die, that was heartbreaking. But seeing anyone die causes all types of depression, no matter if they wanted to kill you. And I'll admit it. I was sorry for the poor guy.

The doors of death immediately flew even more open. The soulless army was sucked into the doorway pulling Octavian in with them. Nico disappeared into a shadow somewhere within that timeframe. Just like that, they all were gone.

"Lets get a move on, like now!" Frank ordered. I couldn't think about Nico right now, or Octavian. I had a prophecy to finish.

We ran to the doors of death when an unexpected hellhound came bounding out of the doorway. It wasn't Mrs. O'Leary either. Its beady red eyes stared at me and I slowly started backing away. I looked at the others.

Hazel looked very alarmed. "Who-" She started. "Who touched my jewels?!"

* * *

**So there you have it.**

** I can't believe I have fifteen chapters! I'm so happy. And the ironic thing is, I hate writing. I love writing this though... I never thought about writing until I read the Percy Jackson series. **

**It's like a stress reliever. Writing is a place to get away and just be in a whole other world. To me, it's the second best thing in the world next to reading. But since MOA isn't out yet, I keep writing.**

**And isn't the Mark of Athena coming out in October? I'M SO EXCITED! AHHHHHHH!**

**-Eri :D**


	16. One Step at a Time

**Good Wednesday fanfiction! I hope you all had a good Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. **

**WARNING: This is an extremely short chapter. I decided to have this chapter noticeably shorter than my other chapters and leave you guys with a HA-UGE cliff hanger. I feel terrible about it, but its the way this chapter has to be... You know, less reading, more interest in the _epilogue_.**

**In other news, I hope you like this chapter because it seems as if our story is coming to an end soon. :'(**

**-Eri :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Rick Riordan is the original author of this series, but I have used his work and branched off of it with the use of my insane imagination- imagination or mental problems? **

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Chapter 16

I observed the creature closer and it didn't look like a hellhound. It was noticeably smaller, but it looked just as demented. Its eyes were foggy and a the flesh around the eyes were torn. Its face was marked with scars and it looked oddly deformed. it was almost butchered.

The dog's stomach was severely indented as if it hadn't eaten in months. It glared at each one of us and rested its eyes upon me the longest.

I felt small and stupid. "Me." I squeaked.

"THEY ARE CURSED! DID I NOT MAKE THAT CLEAR?" Hazel yelled. It was probably the first time I ever heard her yell.

The thing barred its teeth at me and growled. "Uh, n-nice doggy. Heel." It hobbled to me. I backed up even more. "Good hellhound?" I tried, but instead it tackled me. I whipped out Riptide and it froze for a moment.

"That's no hellhound . . ." Annabeth gasped. "It's Laelaps."

"It's a what?"

"Not what, who. His name is Laelaps. This dog was created to never fail at hunting. A creature that always catches its prey. What ever he was instructed to catch, he could. Nothing seemed impossible for Laelaps. That is, until he was ordered by Procris' husband, Cephalus, to hunt the Teumessian fox. The Teumessian fox was destined to never be caught. It was an offspring of Echidna. Some records say that it was Dionysus that sent the fox to hunt the children of Thebes as the consequence for some national crime-"

"Get to the point, Annabeth!"

"Basically, a dog who always caught his prey and a fox that could never be caught would run on for infinity, correct? To stop their self destruction, Zeus turned them into constellations, but it seems as if the curse is broken." Her deep gray eyes looked at me with a hint of worry in them. "Laelaps is out for you now, Claire."

"You, know. I've always loved the stars. Being a constellation wouldn't be so bad right now." I mumbled hoping Zeus would hear me and turn me into a star.

I guess I should have mumbled louder.

I started swaying at it with the edge of my sword. It lunged at the celestial bronze and tried to bit it. I took a step closer to the scary animal. It sniffed the air as if it smelled something funny and he tilted his head. And after that battle, I'm not surprised if I smell disgusting.

No, Laelaps smelled something in my pocket and whimpered. I stuck my hand into my pocket and dug out the cursed jewels. The dog backed up afraid of the shiny objects. No, that was not the reason for this dog to be petrified. It's the cursed part . . .

"It knows that if it touches these jewels, another curse will release." I said. I finally understood what the dog was scared of. "If another curse is let loose, the Teumessian fox will be set free also." Laelaps knew that he'd have to chase it again.

I had an idea. I had to make Laelaps back up into the doors of death and then we can close it! He would be trapped in and we could close the doors. We'd do two jobs in one. Kill two birds with one stone.

I decided to poke at it with Riptide II. "Go. Shoo. Go back home!" I told him. It backed up to the doorway, but wouldn't go in. And if I stepped any farther, I would probably get sucked in the empty darkness. "Shoo!"

My mind was racing. _I don't want this mutt to kill me! _Then I had a realization moment.

_That was the attempt._

_ I failed at the attempt to stop Gaea's army. The curse that caused it; the jewels. This is the penalty. This is my moment. Everything is clear now: I have to die, and I know exactly how to do it. The prophecy will be fulfilled. _

"Romans! Greeks! Take hold of the doors!" I ordered.

They obeyed. Greeks on one side and the Romans on the other. They gripped the doors so tightly, their knuckles turned white. "What's your plan?" Annabeth asked clutching the aged door.

Of course I wasn't going to tell her that I was going to back the creature all the way into the Doors of Death. That was basically suicide. I didn't say anything knowing they would object to it, so I continued to walk, slowly, but assuredly, forward.

One.

Step.

At.

A.

Time.

"Claire?" Percy choked.

He was probably scared of my plan. Maybe he was as scared as I was. I started pushing the Greek dog into the death-filled doorway. And I felt that familiar, cold, soulless feeling that I felt whenever I shadow traveled with Nico.

Soon, Leo realized what I was doing. I guess he is pretty smart.

"She's sacrificing herself!" He yelled. "Claire, don't do it!"

"Get back here right now!" Percy called. I heard his voice echo down the hall of death.

I turned to see them. They were about seven feet away from me at the doors, but it seemed like a mile. "Percy." I responded. "This is it. This is how the prophecy is fulfilled." I looked at him and saw sorrow in his eyes. "Just close the doors."

"You'll be trapped in there!" Jason cried.

"Claire, we're not letting you die." Piper told me. She started walking into the doorway of death.

"No, Piper! Don't. Your soul will be sucked into the trap of death." I sighed. "I have no soul. I feel no pain."

Truth is, I did feel pain. It felt like the life was being sucked out of me, as if I was aging faster than time itself. "Please . . ." I could barely croak out the words because I was so deep in death. I looked back at them. I actually saw a tear slip from Annabeth's eyes.

Suddenly, something glowed on my left shoulder. It was a bright light, like when Kronos lit up Luke's entire body in the war two years ago. Except on me, it glowed only on one patch of my skin. The glow stopped and a weird shape in the color of a birthmark was stained on me.

Annabeth gasped. "The mark of Athena." She was right. If I tilted my head at just the right angle I saw a picture of an owl.

"What the-"

"My mother," Annabeth told me. Her eyes began to fill with tears. "She supports you in your decision." She supports me? Suddenly another mark appeared.

A dove. Aphrodite also supported me.

Then a hammer, a deer, a lyre, a leopard, the caduceus, a pig-like animal, a cob of corn, a pomegranate, an eagle, the helm of darkness, a trident, and last but not least a hump-like picture appeared. It was a mountain and I had no idea who's symbol it was. My arm was covered from shoulder to hand with pictures imitating henna tattoos.

Everyone, all of the major gods, supported me in my plan. They support my death.

"Claire, you can't." Annabeth cried. "I don't care what the gods say. And I know I've been hard on you. We bicker more than Chiron and Mr. D. But without the both of them the camp would fall apart. In the same way, we may be different, but we balance each other out. You're exactly like Percy." She glanced at Percy with tears streaming down her cheeks. "You can't follow through with this. No one is meant to die. We are all meant for life. That's why there is the Elysium, right? So we can live in peace afterwards? Isn't life the reason why some of us are given the chance at immortality? You can't just give up your life, Claire."

"What benefit it is if I gain a life at home without my soul, when I could risk my soulless life to save those who actually have a chance?"

Frank called out to me as I took another step. "Claire! What have you learned from yourself? You tell me that I have a gift no matter what Mars does or says. Don't you listen to your own advice? Don't die just to honor your dad's wishes." Frank's voice wavered at the last word.

I took a deep breath, for the breeze of the dead began to suffocate me. "There's a difference between honor and obedience. He _commanded_ me to take Percy's place."

Percy barely took a step closer to me when Annabeth clasped onto his wrist, urging him to stay back.

With soulful hearts, the demigods saw my point. So they started the push.

Ever so slowly, the doors creaked and I was scared. No, I was terror stricken.

I felt my heart beat louder and louder. The distinct _lub dub _of my heart grew so loud that my ears felt as if they would burst. I could feel the blood drain from my finger tips and the cold setting in.

I froze to the bone._  
_

They closed the doors. No light was allowed in the death filled room.

Before I knew it. I was in pitch black, dark, death. There was nothing to see, only things to hear. I heard moans and groans of strange creatures and I believe I heard the bark of Laelaps, but it may have just been my imagination.

Soon, I felt like Gaea when we defeated her. Somewhere in my body there was a hole that was seeping life. Pure life was exiting my body, rapidly. My eyelids grew heavy, which didn't make a difference since I was without light, I fell into a deep, cold sleep that I hoped to never wake from again.

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**The Doors of Death, Laelaps, sacrifice. There is so much to take in, in this chapter. Dissecting this would be hard... And again, my apologies for this less than three thousand word chapter. MY brain is fried and I'm literally freaking out because some of my other chapters exceeded nine thousand words! I feel awful. The next update should be interesting though...**

**Please review! **

**-Eri ;D**


	17. Hard Core Living

**So, the days have worn away, have they? Hath the seventh moon risen yet?- Psh, I could never talk the Zoe Nightshade talk. I have no idea what I was typing...**

**Anywho- I'm freaking out about the MOA coming out! It's so close, I can smell it. On that exciting note, this take on the MOA, The Secret Side to the Mark of Athena, is still unfinished. I have not finished writing the end of this traumatically insane story. I'M SO WORRIED! Ha ha, I have an idea on how I want this to end, but I haven't time to write it out... so, yeah. I'm trying my best to take all extra time to finish this fanfic without it being crappy. But here's a question that I would love for you guys to respond in your review: **

Like I said, the MOA is coming out in six days, correct? Well, I was wondering if you guys want me to update the rest of this story this weekend before the actual book comes out. Meaning the last few chapters and epilogue together on Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday. Let me know, kay?

**With a joyful heart, peace, love, flowers, and unicorns,**

**-Eri ;D**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns Percy Jacson, Annabeth Chase, Nico diAngelo, Grover Underworld, Jason Grace, Thalia Grace, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, **_**He technically **_**does not own Zeus, Jupiter, Poseidon, Neptune, Hades, Pluto, Hera, Juno, Aphrodite, Venus, Athena, Minervera, Apollo, Apollo, Hermes, Mercury, Ares, Mars, Persephone, Proserpina, Demeter, Ceres and whoever else I forgot. And if he asked to own Claire Jackson, with which I doubt, I would accept in a heartbeat. **

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Chapter 17

I woke up from unconsciousness. My stomach felt really weird, as if I hadn't eaten anything for days. No, it wasn't my stomach. Something was missing inside of me. I discovered myself behind a huge line of people. I felt a bump from behind me which sent me stumbling. "Come on sweet cheeks! Get a move on. We are all trying to get somewhere." A tough looking guy said. He had loads of tattoos and he looked like the typical tough Harley rider.

The guy from behind him peeked out from the tough guy's shadow. "Don't worry, take your time, hon." Compared to the big muscular guy in front of him, he was a toothpick. He seemed like the crazy kind of guy who never stepped foot out of a science research lab. You know what I'm talking about, even if you don't want to admit it. He had the crazy disheveled hair and the never blinking eyes. He wore a creepy white lab coat, all that nerdy stuff. Those brown saucers looked at the buff guy in front of him. "It's not like we are actually looking forward to being punished." He rolled his eyes.

My eyes darted back and forth between them. "Huh?" I was dreaming, right?

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm shootin' for the Heaven." The taller man replied. The scientist rolled his unblinking eyes again and turned away.

My mouth could barely squeak out, "Heaven?" He pointed over to a paradise known as the Elysium "Oh gods, this can't be-" I looked all the way past the hundred and thirty-five people in front of me and saw a sign that read EZ DEATH. I buried my face in my hands. "I'm dead. That's it, I'm dead." The man behind me heard my muffled words.

"Sorry kid." He placed a hand on my arm. "You look young. You probably had so much life left to live."

"You have no idea." I responded.

"How'd ya die?" _Way to be blunt_. He crossed his arms. It seemed really hard for him to do with all that muscle in the way.

"Well- it's," I paused. "It's a long story."

He looked up at the beginning of the line and saw how slow it moved. "I believe we got some time on our hands."

I sighed. "Why don't you tell me yours first." He agreed to this and began to tell me how his past six years went.

"You see, I'm a high school drop out. I weren't never really that smart."

"You still aren't." The guy behind him mumbled. But the man continued on as if he never heard the jerk.

"My passion is bikes. As you can see-" He pointed to a tattoo on his bicep that was an image of one of the first original motor-bikes. "I wasn't the kinda guy who went out every season to buy the latest model. I was the guy who fixed up old and used motorcycles."

"Oh," I smiled at him. "That's a cool hobby."

"Yeah, but it wasn't just a hobby. It was my dream job. I wanted to be a bike repairman. I enjoy the understandin' of how my babies work. Like what types of revolution spinner in the motor is used and if the VRSCs people claimed was really a true H-D."

"Okay." I replied, not really getting his engineer-talk.

"Well, that dream didn't really work out. I had no money to start my own business and 'cause I didn't finish no high school, no one would hire me. They said I needed experience or some type of education." He ran his meaty fingers through his dark greasy hair. "I knew that education weren't an option." I nodded just agreeing with him. "So I decided to look for work other places. I found a job as a back barman at Tyrone's. It's a little bar in a little old rinky-dink town in Minnesota. Good thing about that: It was the only kegger in town. So we got lots of service."

"I wouldn't know." I said. "I'm not old enough to drink." He slapped me on the back.

"You _are _young, kid!" He chuckled really weirdly and tousled my hair. "Anyway, I probably made six fifty a night and fifteen hundred on holidays. It was definitely payin' the bills. It even got me one of the shot girls as my main squeeze and I felt like I was livin' the life.

"Unfortunately, Suzie ratted me out for stealing some booze from the back after holiday breaks." He shrugged. "It's not like anyone's gonna notice that they're gone. Right? Well, she saw me luggin' a cart to the back of my pick up one fourth of July and she snitched. An' she told me that she's just trying to keep her hide from being fired. So she got me got fired on the spot instead. It was a good run though. I snuck quite some of cases over time and still collected lots o' green. I even got rid of that clingy traitor in a mini dress.

"An' throughout that 'tire time, I wouldn't let go of my dream. So I started lookin' for jobs that somehow was near bikes. I just need to be around those machines."

The creepy man behind him whispered, "Obsessed . . ." But again the man ignored him and moved on.

"So I moved out of Minnesota and to Virginia. It was around June twentieth and I heard about a HOG rally. I found out that Williamsburg had a annual HOG rally. I looked at the sign up schedule, but it was filled. Though the nice lady in charge of the registration told me that there was volunteering opportunities and if I did that I could get an earlier chance to register next rally. So o' course I volunteered. I got to work with H-Ds all day!" He smiled like a puppy. "Nothin' made me happier.

"So, I rented out a apartment a few days later. I got settled in just a day 'fore the rally. It was pure lid flippin' awesomality! I was the gasman and repairman. I worked with cruisers, touring bikes, some I weren't even familiar with, like the mopeds and scooters. They were against the rules to bring 'em there! But I didn't say nothin' I kept quiet knowing the feelin' of being ratted out. So anyways, I got a whole new understandin' of the new machines."

He elbow nudged me. "I know I don't look like it," He leaned closer and whispered to me. "But I actually like learnin' 'bout stuff that interests me." I smiled at him. He was just a big love bug that didn't have a great education. "Now, where was I . . . Oh, yeah! I was getting' to the good part."

"I was wondering if there was ever going to be a good part." The other man scoffed. And again the storyteller continued as if there was no interruption.

"This was where I met Carol." He wiggled his eyebrows at me, which made me laugh. "Now, she was one, foxy mama. Carol was registered in the race. She was doin' pretty good 'till she hit the long stretch. Her Electra Glide lost control and she slid into the side hill on one of the off roads. When I came to her rescue, it was like love at first sight."

"That's so cute!" I added.

"Adorable!" The crazy man interjected again. We both looked at him and he turned away sheepishly.

"I immediately got her to the first aid area to check for concussions. She only had a couple minor bruises. I went to work on her bike, and Carol said that her bike felt more stable after I fixed it. She said that she worked for the police force in town and the Electras all have that same problem. The wobbling and swerving around when accelerating. She asked me if I'd come an' take a look at 'em. You couldn't get me to say yes fast enough!" He cackled.

"Working near bikes _and_ a babe like her? No question to it! So I got working at the police station part time, but after she and I started dating, I was there nearly every minute of the day!" He smiled at the nostalgia. "The chief policeman was watching me though, even when I didn't know it. He watched me help the other authorities prepare for their outings and help Carol and her coworkers' cars. They started using cars 'cause of a guy dying somewheres from his motorbike in North Carolina in 2002. But I liked working with the cop cars anyhow. So like I was sayin', the chief policeman one day asked me to try testin' into the workforce. 'Parrently he like my diligence. So I did and I failed it quite a few times, but chief Barclay didn't give up on me. When I finally passed, I begged chief for usage of the Electra Glide. He heard enough of my nagging and finally let me.

"So I had a good paying job, a down-to-earth girl, and my own motorbike. My life was changin' into somethin' truly beautiful." His smile slowly melted away. "But I realized that usin' the Electra Glide wasn't my greatest idea." He sighed a shaky breath. "On one of my outing jobs, I was stationed on route 26. It's a really straight and long highway. Pretty easy, right? Well, I watched the road for hours upon hours until I finally saw a speedy dude who thought he was too cool for rules. So I took after him in my Electra. He accelerated and I accelerated. And soon I felt the same thing Carol felt: a slight wobble and a complete loss of control. I crashed into a couple cars next to me, and that's all I can remember." He looked solemn. "So that's how I died and ended up here." He side smiled in a 'what-can-you-do?' kind of way. "I never even got to propose to Carol." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ghostly version a small dainty diamond ring. He twirled it around his huge fingers and sighed.

"Poor Carol. You two would've made a great couple. Carol and . . . I'm sorry, sir. I never caught your name." I told the man.

"Cooper." He simply responded.

The tinier man behind him burst into laughter. "Cooper? What type of a macho name is that?"

Cooper snapped around and grabbed the shorter man by the collar of his shirt. "You wanna quit it, punk? I'm sick an' tired of your not-so-funny comments!"

The man smiled back at Cooper like he was drunk. "Whatcha gonna do? Kill me?" Cooper frowned realizing the lost opportunity of mauling this guy to death. He dropped the man down and crossed his arms in frustration. The scrawny guy brushed himself off and held out his hand to me. "Pleasure to meet you. The name's Quirgy." He took my hand and shook it.

Cooper snickered. "And you thought _my _name was weird?" Quirgy's eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead." He straightened his lab coat as Cooper laughed his head off. Quirgy rolled his eyes at Cooper. "Are you done? Don't you want to know how I died?"

"Okay, okay, man. Just give me a sec." Cooper laughed some more and then calmed down. "Now I'm done."

Quirgy fixed his lab coat collar. "Well, as you can see by my attire, I was a real scientist, a true researcher. I studied astrophysics."

"Asswhatics?" Cooper asked.

"Astrophysics. The branch of astronomy concerned with the physical nature of stars and other celestial bodies, and the application of the laws and theories of physics to the interpretation of astronomical observations."

Cooper's face changed into sheer confusion. "Asswhatics?" He repeated.

"The study of the things beyond the big blue sky." Quirgy said as plainly as he could. Quirgy swooped his arms in one big circle so show how large the universe is. His arm-spand wasn't very large.

"Oh."

"About a year before my death I was on the study of stars and their birth and possibly other options of birth methods."

"You know I've always wondered that." Cooper said.

"Yeah, how are stars born?" I asked.

"It is quite a simple process. A star is born by a giant cloud of gases and stardust, which is correctly called a nebula. A nebula is when a star dies and new stars will be born from the gases of the old stars that died. Gravity in pulls the clusters of gas together and the gases get very hot. They get so heated that they cause a nuclear reaction and turn into stars. Mass of stars can be from just a few stars to hundreds and hundreds of stars. When stars are born in clusters they call this a stellar nursery.

"Once new stars are formed, a clump of young stars leave the nursery and the hot gases from those stars help cause more new stars to be born in the original nursery. Then, the first stars spread out even more and get farther from the nebula and the ones that just formed continue with the cycle that just keeps going on and on."

Cooper blinked. "You see," He leaned over to me. "This is why I didn't graduate high school. I didn't know the study of _stars_." At first I thought he was serious, but then I detected the slightest bit of sarcasm and I smirked.

"Ha, ha, hilarious. I'm dying." Quirgy said monotonously. "Well, on my scientific breakthrough, my mother decides to interfere with my life and tell me to get married. Get married." He stared at me. "Why in the world would I get married?"

"You _are_ a weirdo." Cooper commented.

"It's not like I didn't dream of having a family someday. I just imagined it later in life." He started getting a dreamy look on his face. "A robot wife. Robot kids! They all listen without being commanded twice." He slipped into a daze. "Oh, uh- Forget that last part." He said snapping back into reality. Cooper and I backed away slowly. "Like I said. Mother was getting way too involved. She started setting me up on blind dates with the most ugly women!"

Cooper side whispered. "You're not that handsome yourself."

"I heard that."

"Woops."

"Those dates were all horrible. The one that was the _least_ horrible was the date with Marissa. I ended up having a long relationship with her. She was a single mother with a boy about eight years old who enjoyed Star Wars movies. I was excited about that." He smiled that nerdy smile.

"I introduced him to the wonders of clear nights and a telescope. I showed him all the constellations in our area and gave him all of my old books on Astrology. I read them to him as if they were bedtime stories. He enjoyed them just the same. I soon became his mentor." He grinned at the reminiscence. "Marissa and I broke up though. Apparently I didn't put enough effort into our relationship compared to my studies. No matter, she didn't keep me from mentoring James. James grew into a handsome young man. With my help, he graduated high school as valedictorian." _Psh- I could do that. Or could've done that. I'm that smart, right?_ "After high school, he went on to Bharti Institute of Vedic Astrology. He graduated from there with a Masters in Research Studies of Astrological Atmospheres. I- I-" He started choking up. "I'm just so proud of him." He wiped a tear from his eye. "Okay, so as I was saying, I just had to congratulate him with the- the greatest gift an astrologer can receive of all time!" He grinned widely. "I was going to give him a star. His very own star made from scratch. Something that has never been done before!"

"So my suspicions are right." Cooper decided.

"What suspicions?"

"You _are _a mad scientist."

Quirgy pouted. "Don't judge me." His eyes narrowed at Cooper. "I gathered information that NASA's most recent launch shuttle was locked in their top confidential quarters. I am probably the _only_ person outside of NASA who got entrance into the room."

"_How?" _Cooper asked.

"I have my ways." He said creepily. "So, I used my radioactive suit, which also came into my possession from disclosed sources, and I gathered the natural gasses of space that were enclosed in the plexiglas dome that protected the shuttle."

"So basically you _stole _from NASA?" I accusingly placed my hands on my hips and stared Quirgy down.

"_No, _I was just borrowing their research . . . Those two definitions differentiate widely. Although, NASA had the same conscience as you. They believed that I stole from them, so the sent the FBI after me."

"Man," Cooper grunted. "I didn't know that nerds could live a life so hard core."

Quirgy smiled. "Yes, I am quite the risk-taker. I, how you say, live on the edge."

"No, don't say that. That's a lid flippin' turn off right there."

Quirgy sighed. "So I finally got all of the necessary instruments to finish my project."

"All for a graduation gift . . ."

"Would you stop interrupting Cooper?"

"What? It's payback for your snide remarks."

Quirgy rolled his eyes. "I locked my doors and the FBI came busting in. Luckily I was hidden in the spare room in my basement. I knew I had to finish the project as fast as possible before the government stopped me. I worked so fast I barely had time to check my work. It seems that I had made a miscalculation of the chemical reactions that would occur during the transformation. Soon I heard a stampede trampling down my basement stairs. What choice did I have? I quickly combined the three chemical bounded gasses and that was all I remember." He ruffled his scraggly hair. "All for James. He was like a son to me." He pursed his lips at the stupid mistake that caused him his life. "We've told our life stories, now it's your turn." The line had moved about sixteen people. I guess I did have time to tell my life story.

I took a deep breath and puffed out a sigh. "I think I should start by telling you my name. I'm Claire, Claire Jackson." They nodded their confirmations. "My death starts at the very beginning of my life."

"Seriously? Aren't you exaggerating? " Cooper asked.

"No. I think Quirgy will find my age quite interesting." I winked at the madman. "I am actually a month and a half old."

"WHAT? Impossible!" He shouted.

My hands flew up in surrender. "I am completely truthful. I don't know if you've heard of anything in relation to Greek and Roman Mythology?"

"Of course I do!" Quirgy scoffed. "Do you know just how many constellations are named after great heroes? How many planets are named after the Roman gods?"

"Yes, well . . . I'm one of those heroes." I watched for a reaction, but they didn't express any surprise. "I am a demigod. My father's a god and my mother's a mortal- I mean human, like you. I had certain powers that follow the path of my father, Poseidon."

"There is no way your dad is Poseidon." Quirgy said. "'Gods' are mythical figures to explain the natural changes of the world such as winter, summer, fall, spring, the sun, the moon, storms, fires, hurricanes and a bunch of other scientific laws."

"If you let Hades hear you say that, he might just send you to the Fields of Punishment." I warned.

"I don't think we should be talking about other gods, guys." Cooper said alarmed. The expression on his face was serious.

"Hades is the god of the Underworld, I believe." Quirgy answered. "The god of the Underworld that is _not_ real." Quirgy looked at me.

"Then how do you explain this line we are standing in? Don't you see what is up there?" I pointed to Cerberus fighting a lost soul to take a place in line.

"Why is there a need for an explanation? It is obvious that that man is weighing his heart on the scale against the feather of truth."

"Feather of truth?" I asked.

"Yes." Quirgy replied. "And there's the god Osiris guiding the man to Egyptian afterlife."

"Guys," Cooper said. "Jesus really doesn't like you talking about false gods in his presence."

I stared at them confused. "You don't see Cerberus, do you?" I said. They shook their heads.

What a weird concept power is. One day you believe in only one divination and the next, you understand the whole process of death that involves all of the beliefs. "Well, moving on- My life story is short. I was a girl after my own brother's heart. I was literally born with the same genetic features as him." I looked down at me feet. "I was actually born to _die _in my brother's place." I looked up at Cooper. He seemed confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, my brother was predicted to have a great fate during a battle between-" I caught myself. "Great forces. We were very involved with those powers. They had asked us to go on a quest that would save the whole world. So instead of my brother having to die, I was commanded to give up my life for him. Now that I have died, everyone can live peacefully, for the time being. Though my brother and sisters still have to fight for their lives." I shrugged at the irony of it. I died in trying to save my immortal family, when I forgot that they would always be fighting against Chaos. It made no sense.

"That's like Christ. Sacrifice for salvation." Cooper commented nodding seriously.

"Ra, too." Quirgy added.

"Well it all started when I woke up on an island. I woke up in the evening with a boy staring at me. He had dark messy hair and a black leather jacket."

"It sounds like my kind o' buddy!" Cooper joked.

"No, he's different." I smiled at the thought of Nico.

"Ooo. Apparently he is _someone special."_ Quirgy wiggled his unruly, caterpillar eyebrows.

"Yeah." I admitted sheepishly. "He stayed by my side 'till the very end."

"What was his name?"

"Nico. His dad is actually-" I looked at Cooper's and Quirgy's faces. I couldn't just burst their hopes. "A very important man." I decided to say. "Well, he helped me find my way home and to my brother. We found him and then there were these series of weird events that you just wouldn't believe." I smiled remembering the Cyclops fight, the prophecy, all of my friends, me sneaking onto the ship, the kidnapping, Ella, and the battle in the sector 16B. I realized that I don't have just Percy's memories, I have created my own. My own life has meaning and was finally worth remembering. I was proud.

"Lets just say my life was destined for death and was really, _really _complicated." I breathed a laugh.

"Well how exactly did you die?" Quirgy asked.

"Well, I basically was asking for it. I walked straight _into_ death."

"Oh, it was that obvious that you were going to die?"

I snorted. "You have no ideaaaaaaa!" Suddenly I was grasped in one quick motion, by my shoulders. I was lifted into the air and was punctured in my armpits with talons. I looked above me and saw a Fury.

"LET'S GO, HONEY!" It screeched.

I felt something attach to my ankles and looked down to see Cooper holding on to me. "Let her alone you demon!" He yelled. Quirgy grabbed onto my hand that I was reaching out to him with.

"Come on Claire! You can do it! Wiggle out of its grasp!" He cried.

I wiggled.

Shimmied.

Boggied.

I squirmed as much as I could. The Fury was stuck to me like glue. My limbs hurt so badly, like I was on Procrustes' bed. I was being pulled in two directions. I slipped out of Cooper's strong hands and was sent flying with the Fury. "Hold on Claire!" Cooper called he started running. He followed me cutting the EZ DEATH line, but was stopped by Cerberus. That was the last I saw of those two lost souls.

"Will you put me down now?" I asked annoyed that a Fury could be so rude as to interrupt a great story such as mine! I crossed my arms and huffed as the creepy winged demon carried me over the entire Underworld. The fields of Asphodel had increased almost a hundred times as much since I was here last. The Fields of Punishment were stocked with the most wicked humans of all time.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked it. The demon kept quiet. I soon realized that we were heading in the way of Hades' Palace. "Oh good gods, not now." I whined.

The Fury dropped me off at the front entrance of the castle and nudged my to enter. "Alright, I'm going." I snapped back. I pushed open the heavy doors. "Hello?" my voice echoed through the dark, gloomy halls. The Fury slipped past me and led me to the way of the throne room.

* * *

I entered. _CREEEEEK! _The door was pretty old.

"So this is the girl?" I heard a woman say. I looked up to see Hades, Persephone, and Demeter sitting on thrones held on a high platform.

"Yes mother, this is Claire Jackson." Persephone replied.

"What a tiny little thing." Demeter said. "You need more cereal, preferably whole grain."

"Would you stop trying to persuade people to eat cereal?" Persephone exclaimed.

"She should stop talking about cereal period." Hades side commented.

"What was that Hades?" Demeter scowled. "I couldn't hear you over your stomach's borborygmus from lack of fiber!"

"That doesn't even make any sense." Hades leaned over Persephone to yell at the elder goddess.

"_Your face_ doesn't make any sense!" She replied.

Hades sighed at the misuse of context that Demeter was using. "Mother, please, give it a rest." Persephone tried to calm the cereal maniac down.

"Next time you invite me to your sorry excuse of a husband's castle, make sure he's not here."

"I LIVE HERE!" Hades yelled so hard I saw a vein bulge from his neck. "Next time, _you_ don't have to come!" He finished.

"Hades! We _invited _my mother!"

"_You _did! Not me!" He told Persephone.

"She told me that _you _invited her here, that you insisted!"

"What man, in all of existence, would invite his mother-in-law over?"

Persephone looked puzzled. Then Hades and Persephone looked at Demeter. She was trying her best to look innocent, but was failing. "What?" She said.

"Mother, why did you trick us?"

"Because! Olympus is _so boring. _Hera hasn't spoken to me since you were born, Aphrodite never leaves Ares' side unless Hephaestus is around, Hermes and Apollo are off at some nightclub, or planting whoopie cushions on Zeus' throne. Athena always has her nose in a book, and no one will even try my organic cereal, Demeter O's." She cried. "I just wanted some company!"

"Oh Mother," Persephone rubbed the sobbing goddess' back. "You can stay."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa . . . whoa." Hades said. "She most definitely cannot. Anyone who is so rude as to invite themselves into my palace is not respectable in my presence!"

Demeter gasped and pursed her lips. "Fine! I'll leave!" She got up and fled the throne room.

"Mother!" Persephone called after her. "Now look what you've done, Hades." Persephone left to comfort her mother.

"What I've done?" Hades stared dumbfounded at what just happened. After Persephone was out of the room he mumbled, "You're the one who invited the crab even if you don't want to admit it." He shook his head. "Men will always be wrong, won't they?" He said to me. "Never mind, don't answer that. So, how are you, dear niece?"

I thought. _How am I? Seriously? _Then I replied. "Quite dead."

* * *

**I'm literally shivering right now. I hated writing the part about all of the beliefs combining during the process of death. I, personally, don't believe in any of this greek mythology stuff. I'm christian and that was a weird concept to even think about. I just tried to elaborate on the given information that Riordan already put out there about this topic...**

**Other than that, this chapter was so much fun to imagine! It took forever, but you know how it is, most 'filler' chapters take the most time to write about because they're annoying. I just love creating new characters and giving them each a different persona.**

**Tune possibly this weekend for eighteen! Ahhh! I love you guys for reading this so faithfully!**

**-Eri :D**


	18. I Like Your Go-tache

**Happy Thursday Fanfiction readers. **

**Should I update today? Nah . . . Weeell, okay! Here ye, here ye! I present thee with thine second to last chapter.**

**I'm _so_ not looking forward to the next chapter, I barely have any of it done, much less the end- wait! I even forgot about the epilogue! Well, poop.**

**I have no time! You know, schools complain about wasting paper, but still give enormous amounts of homework! I don't care if some assignments are online! That's wasting electricity, for goodness sakes! Grr...**

**Anyway, I really have no time. I might even postpone the last chapter... Don't hate me, you've all been in this situation before, I'm sure. **

**Get ready for this epic transition of the ending- at least I think it's epic, but what can I say? I wrote it...**

**-Eri:)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, zilch, nada. **

* * *

Chapter 18

"Why, in all of the Underworld, did you request for me? Now I lost my place in line and will probably have to wait for _another_ few hundred people plead their cases." I told Hades with annoyance in my tone.

"No, no, no, Claire. First off- Tell me," He tapped his chin, "you died a noble death, are you not proud of yourself?"

How could I be proud of myself for dying? Oddly enough, I sort of was proud. It was as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders and I accomplished a great goal. It was actually my _life _goal.

I paused before I answered the god of death. "Well, yeah I guess so. But I'm still upset that your Fury-"

"You should be proud. Do you know exactly what you have fulfilled?" He clasped his fingertips together.

I hated the feeling that I was helpless, with which I was. The god interrupted me, I don't let _anyone_ interrupt me, but what can I say to a god? _Be polite and let me finish first?_ Of course, not! He would destroy my soul right there because he had the authority to talk over me. "Well, I did save Percy's life-"

"Yes you did." He interrupted me again. I felt like ringing his neck, but then that little voice in my head said _Uh, hello? He's a GOD! _So, I restrained my hands from moving as much as possible resulting in an involuntary twitch of my fingers. "He is very grateful of what I hear from Hazel. Nico hasn't spoken to me much about your death."

_Nico. _My mind went straight to that sweet name. _How come he hasn't talked to Nico?_ "They are all sorrowful that you are gone." His face became dark and filled with solemn. "I am quite depressed too. You actually had your head on straight and went with your gut. Those are the characteristics of great heroes. Plus, I'm going to miss your episodes on the _Live Heroes In Action _network. "

I was appalled! "The gods created a show after-" But my mouth abruptly stopped midsentence when something strange occurred.

He smiled at me. Yes you read that correctly. The god of the Underworld, who sits on a throne made of human bones, who couldn't care less about the others on Olympus, who wanted to destroy my soul not many weeks ago, who has my soul locked away this very moment, smiled. It was so unfamiliar to me that it appeared creepy at first.

"Well, thank you. I'm flattered." I decided to say hypnotized by the white teeth baring at me.

He snorted as he got up from his throne with his cape trailing behind him. "Claire," His voice echoed in the large hall as he gracefully strolled toward me. I hadn't realized just how large the throne room was, but I must say, it's ginormous. The ceiling must have been the height of the entire castle! "How . . . observant are you?" He dragged out his sentence as if thinking of it on the spot.

"Well, that's a completely off-topic question. Uh . . . I don't know. I guess I have a keener eye than others, why?"

The unpredictable god smiled again. _What is this? It's like I don't even know Hades anymore_. "Okay, then tell me- Did you notice anything . . . different in the Underworld this evening?"

Anything different? What is that supposed to mean? Was he talking about redecorating? The Underworld may be creepier than it was before. It thought of what I saw back in the EZ Death line. "I saw that Cerberus had gained quite a few pounds."

The deep brown eyes bored a hole into my head. "And . . .?"

More? Uh . . . "And your Fury's talons were just recently sharpened?" I asked rubbing my bruised shoulders.

He shrugged in agreement. "And . . .?"

"And . . ." I thought some more. "You recently got your go-tache trimmed?"

He arched his angular eyebrows in confusion. "Go-tache? What the heck is a go-tache?" He inquired.

"Oh, it's not good enough to be a go-tee or a mustache. It's like a mixture of the two. You know," I flashed my fingers for emphasis, "_go-tache!"_

"Oh, uh . . . yes." He stroked his wispy 'go-tache' and continued. "And . . .?" He urged me to speak more.

"And what?" I questioned. "There is no more. Not much has changed in the Underworld."

He chuckled sinisterly and gestured for me to walk with him through his palace. We walked through the throne room doors and down into the dark hall. "So you are not as observant as I thought. Even _less_ observant than _you_ thought you are."

I pouted. Does he mean I am oblivious? "You have to excuse my poor effort, I'm not feeling so hot today." I mumbled. "Because I'm dead." He didn't hear me though.

* * *

He led me down the hall to a beautifully crafted doorway. "Now this," He started. "Is a special room. It is the room where I store all life existence."

I was puzzled. "Why would you need to store life existence? I mean, nothing in the Underworld actually requires life, does it? Everything's dead. " I replied.

He tsked at me. "However, when the dead come in to stay for eternity they hand over their _life._ It is not their soul, nor their memories of their past life. It is more of an energy that sustained their existence. From this room I give the _lives _to Elionia, the goddess of birth, to replenish the life cycle on earth. I also use it for other purposes. For example, when my daughter Bianca took the rebirth option, I retrieved a lost life existence from here and she was reborn into the current world."

"Hm." I grunted at the name of that traitor.

The god must have read my thoughts because he turned around with anger flaming in his eyes. "Bianca did what was right for her. No one knew how the prophecy would turn out. If my grandmother did rise up against us and _defeated_ us, where would she have gone? She was given the chance to live and she took the risk. Do not make judgments." His face softened back into the calm smiling god from before, yet I still don't know which persona is creepier.

"Now, here is a big question for you. How much do you want to live again?" He crossed his arms and pursed his pale lips.

He did not just ask that. Oh my gods, he did.

"Sir, I would love to live again, truly, but I-"

A boney finger waggled at me. "Great I was hoping you'd say that." Again he interrupted me!

"Uncle, I can't." I blurted.

He tilted his head like a pouting child. "Why not?"

"I made a promise to your son that I wouldn't try for rebirth. He told me how much effort it took to just get a trail on Bianca when she chose rebirth. Not to mention, that he never found her . . . He told me that he'd never be able to find me. At least if I stay in the Underworld my friends will be able to contact me. So my answer is no, no rebirth." I said.

Laughter was in his eyes. "Why Claire, you do not understand-"

I held up my hand to silence him politely. "Uncle, I _do _understand, but I do not break promises."

Hades cocked an eyebrow. "Neither do I. Now, please stand back. I need to get in there, but the lives just love to flutter out." He reached for the doorknob, but I stopped him.

"Please, no. Nico will hate me if I-"

He rested his other hand on top of mine. "It's okay." He assured. I stepped away from the path of the door. As Hades unlocked and opened it, I caught a glimpse of golden wisps fluttering about in a random fashion. I heard the noises they made. It is hard to explain. It's like hearing all of the great singers of the world on fast forward and at a pitch so high, my eardrums were one soprano note from exploding.

Hades quickly closed the door to make sure that none of the lives escaped. Soon I heard him fumbling around in there. "Get AWAY! I already have a life, an immortal one at that!" I heard jars fall and break. "Oops. There it goes." Then I heard keys fall. "Hey! Give that back! They are MINE!" Then I supposed that the thudding sounds were Hades jumping for his keys. "It is NOT time for monkey in the middle."

Quite a few minutes later he opened the door. His hair was tousled and his cape was on backwards with a jar in his hands. "And that is why Elionia captures them instead of me."

I lightly snickered. "They hate you?" Then I couldn't hold in my laugh.

"Unfortunately, yes." He 'fixed' his hair. "Now come along." He walked briskly to the throne room.

* * *

_I will not accept rebirth. I will not accept rebirth. I will not accept rebirth. _I told myself. _No matter how much I'd give to live again. _

When you are dead, life just becomes so tempting.

All the way to the throne room I tried to tell Hades to give up on the rebirth idea. I told him that I could just be a regular dead soul! Regular? I know, it doesn't really fit in the whole Underworld idea. But he ignored my objections the whole way back.

"So Claire, how much would you like to live, again?" He said when we entered the throne room.

"I don't." I replied simply.

"Look I understand-"

"No." I crossed my arms in a dismissive way.

"Please don't-"

"No."

"Niece-"

"No.

"Do not-"

"No."

"INTERRUPT! Do not interrupt me!" The god was boiling mad. "Let me finish!"

I mumbled. "Well, you interrupted me." Usually my mumbles are quiet as hell, but of course the one time a god hears it . . .

"What did you say?" He gave me the _eye._

"Nothing . . ."

"That's what I thought." He sighed out all of his anger. "Before, you said you keep your promises, correct?"

"Yes, and I intend to do just that."

"And I replied that I also keep my promises."

"I remember." I added. _We just lived this moment not even twenty minutes ago . . ._

He covered the label of the jar, which got me curious of what it was. "I remember a promise I had made to a young new demigod a few weeks ago. I threatened to destroy her soul, but we made a compromise on the River Styx." Me. He was talking about me. "I promised her that I would keep security of her soul when she left my realm and not destroy it. But I also promised that if she helped me is some way, I'd return her soul to her."

"Okay- I get it. It's me. But what does this have to do with-" I stopped and my mouth dropped so low because Hades reveled the label of the jar. CLAIRE'S SOUL. "My soul . . ." I said breath taken. "What do I have to do gain it back?" I asked impatiently. "What do I need to help you with? I will even wash Cerberus for you!"

"Do? Why, you have already done so."

I was way past confused now. "Wait- what?" I said oh so smartly.

"When I asked you if you were observant, I meant for you to look at how much the population of my domain has grown." I remembered seeing lots more souls in the Fields of Asphodel. Hades got up and gazed out of the large window overlooking the Underworld. "Since you have closed the Doors of Death, the dead cannot escape. My kingdom had increased ten fold!" He smiled. Did I mention how much nicer he looked when he did that? "Therefore, you have helped me." He looked past me and out of the palace window. "As you can see, the River Styx has been a roaring mess since you entered my kingdom. It knows that I have to keep up with my promise."

I looked behind me to see the famous river. It was so calm it looked like glass. Not at all how Hades described it. I turned back to Hades. He winked at me and said, "So I believe I shall keep my promise and return you your soul, that is if it's okay with you?"

"Of course!" I exclaimed. "I will be getting _my _life back, right? Not someone else's, nor a new reborn life?"

"Yes."

I couldn't stop my smile. I realized I probably looked like a freak grinning from ear to ear. "What are you waiting for? Open that darn lid!" He opened the jar and I breathed in my soul.

Suddenly I became very tired. I felt weak and small. I struggled to keep standing. I even struggled to keep my eyes open! "Why- why am I- I . . ." I couldn't finish my sentence I was so tired.

The last memory I have in Hades' palace was collapsing into the god's arms and falling asleep.

* * *

"Ughn." I moaned. I opened my eyes. I found myself in a dark gloomy room. I stared at the ceiling fan circling above me. _Why do I keep ending up like this? _I thought to myself. _Somehow, I just always seem to fall unconscious and wake up in strange places. Go figure. _

I stepped out of the bed and I realized that I was wearing a lacy nightgown. "What the-" I also realized that I wore lacy socks. I opened the bedroom door and walked out into the hallway. _I look like an oversized child . . . from the eighties._

I walked down the hall. I guessed that I was still in Hades palace due to the gloomy décor. Soon I began to recognize where I was and I navigated my way to Hades' throne room. _Creek!_

* * *

"Claire! So good to see that you're up." Hades said.

"What. Did. You. Do. To. Me." I snarled as I marched up to the mighty god on his throne with my fists clenched in little balls.

"Clam down now-"

"Did you poison my soul or something?" I accused.

"I did nothing of the sort. I simply gave you back your soul. You should be grateful." The god replied.

"Grateful?" I exclaimed. "I passed out! And it's all because of-"

"It's all because of you."

"_ME?!" _I yelled.

"Yes."

_Count to ten . . . No, I'm too impatient._ "Explain." I seethed, trying to gain control of my temper.

"When you walked into the doors of death, it sucked the life out of you."

"Yes."

"If you had a soul then, you would've bared great pain. That is why when you received your soul again you felt tiredness and pain all over again. It became too overwhelming for your body to handle."

"Hm." I understood. He was actually making sense. "So it wasn't a dream. I actually do have my soul?"

"Of course." My face lit up in excitement. "Now, I don't know what you're still doing here."

"What do you- Oh! I can go back to camp?" The god winked at me. "How long have I been asleep?" I asked him.

"About a day."

"A day- Wait, so I can go back. Right now?"

"Right now."

My mind couldn't wrap around the concept of living again. "Really?" I asked for assurance.

"Really." I couldn't have run to the god faster. I threw my arms around his black cape and almost strangled him.

"THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" I cried into the god's shoulder. My shoulders shuddered from hyperventilation. Tears were streaming down my face and I couldn't hold in my gasps from sobbing.

"Okay! Enough!" He barked. Then I kissed the god's cheek and backed off of him. He laughed at my emotional drama. "Just go." His eyes danced with happiness.

"Oh! Okay, Goodbye, I guess!" I ran out of the Palace's front door.

_I'm finally free. I have a soul, the prophecy is fulfilled and I'm . . . done. I'm done with the gods. I'm done with monsters. I'm done with stupid messed up predictions. And I am done with death. Finally! _I looked at my surroundings. I saw the Fields of Punishment, the Field of Asphodel, and the Elysium.

_Wait . . . where am I going? _I thought. I pushed with all my might against the thousand ton door and I ran inside. "Uh, Hades?"

"I'll go with you." The god smiled at my stupidity.

* * *

We walked down passed the EZ DEATH line and I saw Quirgy and Cooper. As Hades and I walked by, they were stunned. Speechless. I have no idea what they saw and I never will know because Hades didn't wait for me. He just kept on walking. I waved the guys off and ran to catch up with my uncle.

We passed the Wall of Erebos and walked to the edge of the Styx and he abruptly stopped. "Claire," He said. "The gods have the entire Underworld wired. They think I can't handle the population myself. So, they have installed security cameras all around. They are probably focused on us at this very moment." Hades gestured to different areas of the Underworld that seemed pretty sketchy to me. "The gods don't watch the monitors all day long, though. If you try to escape, an alarm will go off in Olympus and Nemesis will be here within a matter of seconds. The only exit that isn't wired is the entrance, right over there." The god pointed his boney finger across the Styx at a golden, lit doorway. "That's the only way you can get out without disturbing the Fates and gods. Now good luck." The god waved me off and flashed out of my sight.

_Surprisingly, my favorite uncle plays with bones and works with the dead. How messed up is that?_

Out in the middle of the river I saw a ferry, Charon's Ferry to be exact. His boat slowly made its way over to the edge of the river.

"How," The old ghastly man slowly said in a deep voice. "Can I help you?"

"I need to get to that entrance over there. I'm not dead. I'm alive, see?" I twirled around as if I was showing off a beautiful prom gown.

"Hm." He dragged out his thinking process. _This guy has to quicken up his pace, I have no time for dallying! _"Yes," He scratched his stubble on his chin. "I do see." Then he grinned crookedly. "That'll be two drachmas." He held out his crooked hand.

"I don't even have one drachma." I said. The immortal boatman frowned.

"Then I have no business here." He started rowing away.

"WAIT! No!" I made a reach for the boat, but he floated off quicker than his arrival. He ignored me and went to the other side of the Styx. "Don't go! I have to go back to camp!" Again he ignored me. "How rude!" I yelled at the ferry. "Now how am I going to get home?"

Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my shoulders, my feet were lifted off the ground and I was flying. I looked up and saw the Fury from before. "Honey, dear!" Her voice echoed throughout the entire Underworld.

As we passed over Charon he chook his cane at the fury and yelled, "You idiotic creature!"

The Fury ignored the boatman, or probably didn't understand English. It's most likely the second one. She gently let me down on the bank of the River Styx. "Thanks." I patted her wrinkly skin. "I misjudged you."

"Luck is wished!" She patted my arm and took off.

"I'm going home." I entered the blinding light and appeared in the center of New York City. "Whoa." _BEEEEP! _"Sorry!" I apologized.

I was literally in the middle of the road. "Well, that was a stupid design. I just escaped death, yet basically walked right back into it!" I mumbled as I dusted myself off.

Some of the pedestrians were staring at me from the sidewalk. I have no clue what they saw. I grinned sheepishly. "That's _some _traffic, huh?" One guy nodded awkwardly and walked away.

_Now, how am I going to get to Camp Half Blood? _I thought.

* * *

**How was it? Good? Bad? Terrible? Interesting?**

**Let me know in a review! I'd be honored to receive a few. :D**

**-Eri **


	19. Forever Alone

**Wooooo! That was one heck of a day. After school I was frantically finishing the rest of this, plus trying to make it sound okay... **

**Here is the LAST chapter. Boo hoo. I'm so sad. **

**I had such a fun time writing this and I'm hoping all of you enjoyed it. I want to thank all of my readers. Those of you who read only one chapter, and those who read all the way through to the last chapter. :)**

**BTW: Epilogue will be put up either tomorrow or Sunday. And if you really want, I can post up the deleted scenes that I have stored away somewhere. **

**-Eri :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't think that I'd be this excited for the Mark of athena, which is in four days now, if I owned any of the olympians.**

* * *

Chapter 19

I walked down a few streets and searched for a bus stop. Apparently, the three o'clock bus was arriving soon on the corner of Sterling Avenue and some other street I couldn't make out.

I took a seat among the other people waiting for the bus to turn up. I twiddled my thumbs waiting for the stupid bus because the anticipation of seeing my friends was so hard to keep in. I kept imagining what Percy's face might look like when I showed myself. I started thinking of a plan to do some surprise appearance. I was lost in my own little world. I was so oblivious that I didn't even notice the three, strange, old women sitting next to me. They covered their faces with a newspaper and were whispering about me. Oddly enough, they seemed familiar.

"Got green eyes . . . Most definitely resembles _him . . . _She can't be . . ."

Wow, they need to take whispering lessons from the Stolls. I could even tell that they were talking about me. "Excuse me ladies," I leaned over and confronted them. "Can I help you?"

They let down their newspaper and I swear, if I wasn't a demigod it might have freaked me out. There were three women. One had one eye, one had nothing, and the last had a tooth. Madness I tell you! But my mind immediately referenced the Greek information part of my mind. The Gray Sisters! Of course!

Then another thought popped into my head. The Gray Sisters were known for knowing where places were. They could tell me how to get back to camp! "Yeth, you can. Are you by any tanths 'Laire Shackthon?" Said the woman without the tooth.

"Uh, yes. My name is _Claire Jackson_. Are you three the Gray Sisters?" They nodded their response.

I almost cheered in happiness. "Do you know how to get to Camp Half Blood from here?" They were the ones who had the taxi service, right?

"Of courth!" Her saliva flew from her mouth and into my face. _Ewww! _"We know where everything ith. By the way, I'm Wathp." I gingerly took her hand and shook it. "Thith ith Anger," She pointed to the one that had neither the eye nor tooth.

I would be called Anger too if my sisters got all the good stuff.

"And thith ith Tempitht." Her saliva landed on my cheek.

Even though my insides grimaced at the disgusting wet substance on my face, my heart leaped with joy at the chance to go home! "Can you take me there?" I asked eagerly. "Like, now?"

"Why thure," She replied. Then she smiled evilly presenting her pink gums. "For a prithe." She rubbed her fingers together in that greedy way. Wasp whistled for their magical taxicab. Surprising? Yeah, I was surprised to see that she could whistle, too.

The taxicab was gray and mist-like, almost as if was made out of pollution. I was afraid that if I stepped in it I'd fall through the seat!

I looked at Wasp in her disgusting eye. How was I going to pay for this? "I don't have any drachmas." I admitted. She gestured toward the vehicle.

"We take American money also." Said the one with the tooth.

I sighed. "I have nothing, zilch, nada."

Her eye narrowed at me. "Well then, too bad. It looks like you are going to miss your friends!"

The one without an eye nor a tooth got in first yelling, "It'th my thurn to uthe the eye!" Anger was one excited creature. She reached at her sisters' faces and felt around for the body parts.

"Fine!" Yelled Wasp. She took the eye out of its socket. I nearly barfed right there.

I examined them as Tempest entered the mythical cab. I couldn't just let them leave. This was my only chance of getting home! Okay, that _was _an exaggeration. This wasn't my _only_ option of getting home, but it was the easiest and I had to do something to get into that cab! If I didn't get to Camp Half Blood today, who knows what could happen? So I stood up to my fear of these creepy women. Were they women, or magical females? Eh, whatever.

I swiftly stepped in front of Anger before she could enter the taxi. "No, I'm getting to Camp Half Blood whether you like it or not." Then I did the most disgusting thing ever. And, I mean, in all of history. I reached forward and pulled the eye from her socket and hid it behind my back.

"EHH! Whath did you do?" She screeched.

"I'm keeping hold of this until you give me a ride to camp."

"Whath?! NO!" Wasp made a grab for the eye, but since she couldn't see, she reached for the door of the cab. "Argh!" She got so frustrated that I seriously thought she was going to rip the door off its hinge!

I jumped out of her reach as she stumbled around flailing her arms. "Give ith back!" Spit flew into the air as she spoke with her lisp.

"Give _me _a ride." I spoke sternly.

She huffed and jabbered something gibberish as she got in the cab, and not so gracefully, if I may add. "Geth in the cab, you worthleth halthblood." She mumbled. "Buth we need the eye ith you wanth to geth to camp alive."

At first I held back. "Do you promise to give me a ride? I have to trust you if I'm giving away my item of negotiation."

"Fine, I promith."

I knew my oaths. "You promise on what, in particular?"

She snarled. "I promith on the River Thyx." She hissed. She sealed the deal and I gave her back her eye.

However, I don't think giving them the eye helped at all. The first sister drove recklessly! I wondered what mortals saw with the Mist blocking them from the truth. It was a three-hour drive and I almost jumped out of the car to just to vomit. She drove mercilessly, recklessly, and terribly. It's a good thing magical creatures don't need a drivers license.

The worst part of the ride was the bickering. If you think that you fight with your siblings or your best friends pretty bad, you have never seen the Gray sisters in action.

"Keep your eye on the road!"

"Tchut your mouth,Tempest! You can't even thee if I'm watching the road or not!"

"I can feel the swerves and jolts of your reckless driving!"

"I'm not reckleth!" Anger barked.

"Are too, you couldn't drive right if it was on autopilot."

"Well, thomeone'th upthet she doethn't have the eye."

"Do you truly think I'm jealous?" Tempest snickered at this.

"Yeth, and jealouthy ith a thin, you know."

"Please, how could I ever be jealous of an old hag who can't talk correctly and drives recklessly?"

"Not thith again! 'Laire, do I drive reckleth?"

The blood drained from my face. I paled even more when Anger turned to look back at me. She wasn't even concerned that her attention wasn't on the road! Although, I wasn't about to tell her that . . .

"Uh, I'm not getting into this." I sank into my seat and held on for dear life as they continued their pointless banter.

We finally arrived at Farm Road and the Anger stopped abruptly. It was so sudden I went flying into the seat in front of me. "We can't take you any further." Tempest said coarsely.

"Thank you." I muttered as I scurried out of the cab. In a matter of seconds they drove off and vanished into thin air.

* * *

Trudging up Farm Road, I came to the familiar, invisible boundary line of Camp Half Blood.

I was excited when I came to Thalia's tree. Her tree. I'm almost there!

I searched around the camp cabins. No one. It seemed as if the entire camp was empty.

Thinking I was alone, I wondered where everyone was. I heard sobbing and loud speaking from afar. I continued walking the campground until I came across some kind of event.

There was a large crowd, much bigger than just the members of Camp Half Blood, surrounding the Big House. Up on the porch was a set up of microphones and amps.

As I came in behind everyone, I noticed that Percy sat with his head in his hands, Frank, Hazel, Leo, and Jason sat quiet. I noticed their faces were strange. They were filled with sorrow. Annabeth was staring at a piece of paper and silently sobbing. Soon I realized that it was Chiron speaking.

"-brave, loyal, and quite clever. I've only known her for a bit, but as a trainer of heroes, I cannot say that she wasn't one. She may have been different, but she was, and will forever be, in my book a heroine. She died a hero." A round of applause was sent like a wave throughout the audience as Chiron stepped to the side.

Next, Annabeth came up to the stand, all teary and puffy eyed, holding a crumpled little paper in her hands. "In the beginning, I wasn't so fond of Claire_."_

_Me. This is m-my funeral._

"She was like Percy, I couldn't handle another Percy." A slight laugh carried across the crowd. "I'm pretty sure she had it out for me too." Annabeth never looked up from her paper. "She grew on me, though. And in the end, I think we understood each other." A tear dropped on the paper sounding with a _plick. _"She was stubborn and- and she had a lot of guts." She smiled at some memories. "I remember that she had the guts to talk back to me- actually she had the guts to stand up to Clarisse in a battle back at Camp Jupiter. She had the guts to sneak onto the Argo II, plus taking on Polybotes reincarnated was just bold." She sniffled. "She had the guts to stand up to Gaea's temptations and she had the guts to sacrifice her life for us. Not just Percy, guys, all of us." She looked out into the crowd. "And we will forever miss her."

Soon, Hazel waltzed in carrying my shroud in her arms. It was tie-died pink, green and charcoal. Leo came with fire playing on his palms. She carefully laid it on an altar next to Octavian's burning shroud. Leo lit the multicolored shroud on fire- my shroud on fire.

This was all too familiar. Didn't this happen to Percy after the Mt. St. Helens accident. "Now, this-" I said really loud so everyone could hear. "This is just way too weird."

Annabeth pursed her lips and searched for the intervener. "Have some respe- Cuh-laire!" Annabeth squeaked and covered her open mouth from shock when she saw me. Every single head from the crowd turned to see what Annabeth was staring at. Mouths opened and stayed open.

"Again- My name is only one syllable." I joked.

I would like to say that I was then swarmed in hugs from both camps- but I wasn't.

I was stared at- I was stared at like fish in an aquarium and I saw Percy's head peek up from the front of the crowd and I locked eyes with him.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he got up and walked towards me. It seemed like eternity before he reached me, but when he did, he just stood there in front of me for a few moments looking perplexed. Then he decided to touch my arm. He flinched when he felt me, like he was expecting to feel a wisp of a deceased soul.

His attention turned back to my eyes. "H-how . . . ?"

"You're not the only one who can find loop holes in prophecies." I smiled. Then finally, he embraced me. Everyone took the cue and I was completely covered in scarred arms and hands. I was sweltering under sweaty bodies, but I didn't care. I had my friends and they had me.

I was home.

However, I didn't feel the same. Something swelled inside of me. It wasn't feelings. Well, it _was _feelings, just not the right ones. I didn't feel love, sorrow, happiness or joy. I felt undone and angry. Was that even possible with these people whom I love surrounding me in hugs? I don't know how I could be mad at them, but I was.

I closed my eyes in frustration as they embraced me. _I don't hate them. _I thought. Subconsciously, the little voice in my head whispered: _You are angry with him. _

Who?

_You know. _

Nico.

That's what it was. Something that was missing- actually it was _someone_ that was missing. Nico wasn't at the burning of my shroud. Why would he have missed it? Did he not care for me as much as I thought he did?

In the midst of all the hugging, squashing and tears of happiness, thunder boomed overhead. Arms pulled off of me as we all looked up to see the god of the sky descending from the clouds. His eyes displayed rage and his knuckles were white from gripping his thunderbolt to strongly.

As soon as his Grecian sandals touched the ground, everything was stilled. He was obviously an upset god and who knows what he could do if we offended him? He'd smite us.

"What is going on?" His voice carried over miles. Chiron stood there frozen. I think he was speechless, for I could feel confusion clogging his mind. Zeus' eyes scanned the camps.

If things weren't strange enough, his appearance seemed to glitch before us. Almost like a bug in a hologram, his immortal form replaced itself with Jupiter every couple minutes. "This is what happens when the two camps come together, I can't remain separated from my other half." Zeus explained.

"I agree, this is going to cause many problems." Jupiter overtook Zeus' form and struggled to hold onto control. "Greeks! We present our profound gratitude, but now we shall depart." And with a snap of his fingers, every, single Roman was erased from Camp Half Blood.

Piper, who had been holding onto Jason, was left without a trace of her boyfriend. "Jason?" She whimpered.

As soon as the Romans disappeared, the rest of the gods and goddesses of Olympus arrived. "I can smell the romance in the air!" Aphrodite sang, appearing out of pink, sparkly smoke.

"What type of battle was that? Grandmother is such a wimp." Ares commented, tightly crossing his arms.

Artemis silently waltzed in. I almost didn't notice her because she was so quiet. I guess she should be really stealthy from hunting all the time. She eyed me skeptically keeping her mouth shut.

Someone abruptly clapped me on the back. It was Apollo. "Nice job, kido." He whispered. Then he went to stand with the other gods.

Soon, my dads arrived. Weird huh? Poseidon held his chin up high in full serious mode. However, Hephaestus smiled at me as if I was some sort of hero. Trust me, I'm anything, but that.

When did Hades, Persephone and Demeter arrive? How had I missed them? The Olympians all lined up in front of the camp in their usual "U" shaped semicircle. "Now that I can exist in peace, we shall discuss the situation with the Romans." Zeus announced.

All breaths stilled. "Speaking of our counterparts, I hoped that you got along nicely." He bellowed.

We nodded, not being able to speak. "I applaud you all for handling this odd occurrence so maturely. Not many times have the Romans and Greeks worked together harmoniously. That was the very reason we split you two camps up so long ago. One was not to know about the other. For, we gods feared constant war or even worse, an uprising." He explained.

"Well, everything's okay now, right?" Leo was the only one brave enough to speak up. "We know about the others and they know about us. We can all be friends-"

"That is the exact problem. We cannot all be friends. This was one rare time where you, demigods, collaborated quite well with the other demigods. Not every generation of half bloods that are born will be like you. History repeats itself and at some point in the future quarrels and wars will be started between the Romans and Greeks. Now the problem is that you have knowledge of the Romans and they have knowledge of you."

"So, I am assuming that you have solution to the Roman and Greek's bond?" Athena asked.

Zeus hefted a great sigh, "I have thought about it, but no idea satisfied what we are going to do about this." He admitted.

There was silence as we all thought about possible solutions to this disturbing dilemma. How can we just forget this journey that we spent with the Romans? Jason, Frank and Hazel, gods, they have become a big part of our family. They _are_ family and nothing can tear that apart.

"We can't just forget what happened." Annabeth opposed.

"Correct, my dear," Athena agreed "Not on your own at least." She turned to converse with the king of the gods. "Father, there is only one thing we can do and you know-"

He silenced her with his hand. "That is not an option, Athena."

"What is she talking about?" Poseidon inquired.

Athena answered my father. "The only way to return back to normal life without the Romans is to _have everyone forget." _Her words hung dead in the air. "That would mean permitting _her_ back onto Olympus and destroying anything that would bring back memory of this war."

All eyes turned to me, for we were all thinking the same thing.

"But Claire!" Piper cried. "She doesn't count, right?"

Hephaestus swallowed hard. "You can't destroy her-"

"She was created for this specific war. Any memory of her associates with the Romans." The goddess of wisdom never once looked at me. "I don't think that it is just to act upon such intentions, but there is _no_ other option-"

Tears backed up in my eyes. They had to destroy me? "Your father is right, we cannot destroy my daughter." Poseidon countered.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Athena was now angry. "Are we just to let them go on knowing that their counterparts are just a few states away from them? What if a fight happens? Who knows what catastrophes would be created from some twelve year-olds' argument! Think about it, our children using their abilities to start wars against each other! The result is complete chaos!" I could see why she is the goddess of wisdom. I just wish I didn't.

No one said a word. I was getting used to the silence that rung in my ears. "So it's settled, we will call on Mnemosyne and destroy every trace of the Romans in Camp Half Blood and any trace of the Greeks in Camp Jupiter. That doesn't just mean Claire," I cringed, "that means the Argo II has to go," Now it was Leo's turn to cringe, "the sibylline books must go," Annabeth sighed in disappointment, "the equipment for capture the flag at Camp Jupiter must go, and every single article from the decorations of this funeral to the burning shrouds, must be destroyed." Now, a steady stream of tears flowed from my eyes.

"There must be some other way-" Aphrodite said.

"Actually, there _has _to be some other way." Hades interrupted. "It is impossible to destroy Claire. I cannot take custody of her soul."

"And why is that?" Ares questioned.

"We got caught in the middle of a bad situation a while back and long story short, I ended up swearing on the Styx to never harm her soul."

"You did what?!" Athena and Zeus chorused. "How could you do such a thing so stupid, and without the consult of the rest of us? What were you thinking?" Athena scolded. The gods were horrified with Hades.

"I am the eldest god present! I believe I need not to _consult _anyone else in my decision making."

"What you _need _is to actually think before you dare say River Styx!" Persephone scolded.

"I _need _no backtalk from you, woman!"

I stopped them before they got into a heated argument. "Hold on, hold on. What are you saying? I can't die?"

Hades walked over to me. "Yes, you can never die. You are basically immortal by default." Once again, I froze. _I'm immortal? I'll never die. _"And there is nothing that anyone of us can do to change your immortality because it was an oath on the River Styx."

I felt like throwing up. I was happy that I didn't have to be destroyed, but living forever? It's not natural, immortality is a living Hades.

My mouth whispered, "Immortal." I didn't know what to do. My soul created jumbled up feelings of happiness and anger and even embarrassment all rolled into one.

"We cannot destroy any of these things, Athena." Artemis finally spoke up. "These noble heroes spent time and effort, they put blood, sweat, and tears into the tools used in this war. I propose that we stow away their precious memories along with Claire out of the Greek's and Roman's sight."

Zeus stroked his beard. "Very wise, my daughter. That plan seems plausible. However, where shall we conceal Claire Jackson and these other instruments such as the Argo II?"

Immediately, Hephaestus's hand shot up. "I shall take Claire and the Argo II into my possession. My mansion would make a suitable resort for all of the evidence of this war." He grinned. "It gives me another project to work on. I will build, yet another room in my mansion for these memorable implements."

Aphrodite stopped filing her nails, "Oh, no you don't." She pointed the nail file at her husband. "You're not going to immerse yourself in your work and ignore me for another decade, again."

"Fine," Hephaestus smirked. "We'll just use the left division of your closet to store everything!" Aphrodite gasped.

"You wouldn't-"

"You two can settle this some other time, can you not?" Ares snapped, jealous of his brother, as always. However, with one single stare, Aphrodite finally gave in.

* * *

So that's it. I finally got my life back and I'm being deported to Hephaestus's mansion to abstain from any social life.

Soon enough, the gods called upon Mnemosyne. She materialized in front of us heated with anger. "Ah, you actually remembered that I still exist? Of course you did, I know exactly what each and every one of you backstabbing, immortal creatures remember."

Zeus had to say only two words to the goddess. "Mnemosyne, stop."

She reluctantly bowed to the king of the gods and seethed, "Your, majesty." She must have still been bitter about the banishing. Hera glared at Mnemosyne. She was probably still _upset_ with the goddess for laboring the nine muses with her husband, Zeus.

Mnemosyne had a long rose colored gown on with accents of golden ribbon that accentuated her thin waist. Her hair was tied in a long, light brown, French braid that danced whenever she moved. She had sharp facial features and eyes of hazel. She swept closer to me, "Ah, if it isn't my little protégé."

"Your what-huh now?" I asked.

She beamed at me. "Have you not been hearing the little comments from me now and then? That little voice in your head is moi! What about remembering what your father told you about being claimed. You never would have remembered Percy's swordsman skills without me. Your very life would be nothing if I hadn't supported you in remembrance of Percy's experiences. Why, I supported you in your suicidal decision to save your friends!"

I stammered, "T-that was you? Every single bit of the memories. When Luke died, those images- those were all you?" I questioned. She nodded. "The mountain-?" I gasped. I looked at my left arm, staring at all the different symbols. The blob that looked like a large hill was at the crease of my wrist.

"That is Mount. Piera. It's right over the hills of Eleuther." She told me.

I was puzzled as I examined the symbol closer. "Why is it Mount. Piera?"

She sighed. "I was given no animal or other form of a symbol, so I, independently, decided to use that mountain, set right next to Mount Olympus, as my own. "

I didn't know what to say to her. Should I provide pity? Maybe I should let her know my appreciation for her involvement in my life. But should I be mad at her for invading my thoughts and making me think that it was my own conscience, my own doing?

Maybe I should have thanked her for the memories, but I didn't even have a chance to speak up. "I have a task for you Mnemosyne." Zeus stated. Mnemosyne peeled her eyes off of me and confidently strutted over to the lord of the sky. "We have a large dilemma on our hands and I demand you to comply with our request."

"The size of the request depends on the size of the reward." She replied smugly, she had the gods at her feet.

* * *

After a long amount of time they spent haggling, two weeks of haggling to be exact, Zeus agreed to Mnemosyne's terms. She desired permission back on Olympus, an apology from the gods, and a cabin for some of her demigod children and grandchildren. After all of the agreements were settled, Zeus ordered the camps together for one last meeting.

"Today is the day that we say farewell." He announced.

I went around to everyone to say goodbye forever.

Forever.

I hugged and kissed people I didn't even know. I went up to Rachel. "Thanks," I choked. I flung my arms around her and sobbed into her neck. "It's so unfair." My voice muffled into her shirt. We stood there crying for a long while.

"Oh Claire, I'll never forge-" She paused. _I'll never forget you. _Is something that everyone says as a goodbye statement, however it wasn't a valid statement in my case. She realized this and then sobbed some more. "You know what? Just know that no matter what happens, you are forever my friend and I love you." I squeezed her tight and moved onto the next heartbreaking goodbye, Piper.

She was a mess. I wrapped her in my arms and listen to her cry. "First Jason, now you. What am I to loose next?" Sniff. "Is this what the Fates love doing to me? Is ruining my life a new hobby of theirs?" She broke out into a hysterical meltdown.

"No, it's my life they like ruining." I joked, trying to cheer her up. It backfired on me, though. The comment just made me sadder about the circumstances at hand and I cried harder. She muffled some other things incoherent and I just stood there embracing her.

My goodbye to Annabeth was different. Nothing was said, no tears were shed. We just sat together side hugging. I could see where she was coming from, not being able to cry that is. She and I were numb to all of this change. How would our life benefit from crying? Tears would not change the situation and would not make this goodbye any easier, or any more memorable, for she would not remember any of this.

She let go of me and handed me a little box wrapped up with a bow. "Open it." She said shakily. I opened the box to find a camera. "Even though none of us will be able to remember you, I- I," Tears built up in her eyes and she laughed. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry for a picture!" She wiped her tears from her bloodshot eyes. "I want you to remember us. Take lots of pictures of everything and everyone, today. Remember for me, Claire" She took the camera from my hand and held it in front of us. She leaned in close to me and smiled. _Flash! _"There," She sniffed. "Your first picture."

She squeezed me one last time and went to go talk with Percy.

Instead I got sidetracked with goodbyes to Dakota, Jason, and Reyna. Eventually I made my way over to Hazel, forgetting about Percy. She fell down in front of me weeping. "I'm so sorry," She cried. "Its all my fault: my curse, my jewels, the doors of death- everything. Your death was all because of me."

I bent down and stroked her hair. "Hazel, none of this is because of you. I picked up your jewels at my own free will, I walked into the doors of death voluntarily."

She hiccupped. "If I stayed in the Fields of Asphodel, Nico would have never found out about Camp Jupiter. He would have never known about Roman demigods, and the camps wouldn't know about each other. It's all because of me that we have to- to for-" She choked on her tears.

"Hera was the one who switched Percy and Jason, Hazel. You had no part in all of this mess." Her lips twitched and she bawled again. I held her close. "I'll never forget you." I said. I pulled her into one last comforting hug -it helped the both of us- and I let go.

"Wait," She pulled out a ruby from her pocket. "You can't be cursed anymore so I thought you should have this." She pressed it into my palm. "I don't want you to forget all that had happened." I thanked her and put it in my pocket of things people have been giving me.

I spotted Frank walking towards me. I flung my arms around his broad shoulders and nested my head into his chest. "I don't want to leave." I admitted.

"No one wants you to leave." He said. "You know, I never really expected you to die. I always knew that we'd see you again somehow. When you interrupted the burning of the shrouds, I wasn't really surprised. I'm surprised _now _that the gods are making you leave, for good."

I looked up into his face. His comforting smile wasn't there any more. He was a picture of confusion and solemnity. "I'll never forget what you said." He told me. "And don't forget what you said either. Don't let the characteristics of your immortal parents decide who you are, okay?" His muscular arms squeezed me so tight.

"I won't. But to be realistic here, you _will _forget what I said." I laughed.

He didn't laugh along. "No, I won't forget." Then he took my camera and snapped a few shots of us.

"Thanks-" He passed me a box. "What's this?" He told me to open it when I got back to Hephaestus's mansion.

I looked to say goodbye to Leo and found him caressing his ship. "You were a good boat. Festus shall forever live on with you-"

"Leo?" His head turned towards me.

"Oh, it's you." He came up to me, but we didn't hug or anything like I did with the others. "Are you okay?"

I softly shook my head. "I'm going to miss you and your little sarcastic comments." I admitted.

"But you'll miss Nico more, right?" He smirked.

I felt terrible. Even though I did nothing to the both of them except for a kiss each, I felt as if I had played them. I blushed and looked to my shoes. "Don't worry about it. Sure I'm kind of upset that a guy who's always in _depression_ or in some _dramatic emo state _is the one you obviously like." Was it that obvious? "But I realized that I'm going to forget all that had happened. No harm done." He shrugged. _Okay, I'm leaving his life forever and he shrugs?!_

"So that's it? _No harm done?_" I questioned. Immediately he pushed our lips together. I didn't feel sparks or anything only his warm harms gripping my shoulders.

The moment he let go his face turned a deep shade of red. I cocked an eyebrow at him sardonically. He explained, "I just wanted to know before I forget, you know? No harm done." He shrugged again and I couldn't help myself but laugh.

We took a couple pictures of ourselves making goofy faces and pictures of the rooms in the Argo II. "Gods I'm going to miss this place." I said.

"Oh, here's your box from Aphrodite." Leo brought out a box from Piper's room and there was my purse containing my extra camp T-shirts.

Later on, after the walk of reminiscence on the Argo II, I found Tyson eating his wonderful jar of peanut butter. "Sister!" He called dropping his jar and rushing to me. One second I was standing firmly on the ground and the next I was tossed into the air at Tyson's mercy.

"Tyson," I said. "I have to go soon." He gently put me down.

"I know."

"No, I mean go forever. I can't come back." I explained.

"And I'll forget, right?"

"Yes,"

"Everyone else, too?"

I sighed. "Yes."

"But how?" He asked.

I sighed again. "Mnemosyne has some spell to cast over-"

"No," He cut in, "You can't forget family."

My heart broke on the spot. He then held me tight in his arms and began petting me like an animal. His large hand stroked my hair and I felt so relaxed.

I attempted to take pictures of Tyson and I together, but he insisted on taking the pictures himself. I think he took about fifteen pictures of a butterfly that had passed during the photo shoot.

Last but not least- certainly, the most important of all- I said my goodbye to Percy down at the lake. Everything was silent for a long time until he spoke up. "How could you risk your life for everyone?"

I smiled at him "Why do you ask me this? I know that you would have done the same thing if Poseidon hadn't been specific about who was supposed to die. And I know it's a hard thing to think about, but I know more about you than _you_ know about you."

He rolled his eyes. "What the heck does that mean?"

"Well, I know how you think and I see how you act around others. You don't have that outside perspective of yourself. And just to put it out there, even though you feel scared inside of what the outcomes are of crazy prophecies such as the one we just lived through, your appearance displays nobility, not fear."

"Really? Hm." Things became silent again. What were we supposed to say? Everything was awkward because of this stupid forgetting situation going on.

I decided it was my turn to start. "Thanks."

"For what?" He asked gently.

I stared him in the eyes and saw pain. I'm pretty sure he saw the exact same thing in my eyes. "For sharing Mom with me. You have no idea how big of a deal that was."

His face looked like he was about to cry, but he's Percy Jackson. He never cries. "No problem." He suddenly balled his fists. "I just hate how the gods can just . . . _choose _your life for you. I can't stand it! Why is it that our destinies are at the mercy of the beings that have messed up the world to begin with!" He was breathing heavily now. "I'm eighteen. I want to be in charge of my future."

"You do control your own future."

"No, they tell me what to do and when to die and all that other stuff."

"Percy, that's the Fates doing. The gods couldn't control when Luke turned against them. They didn't even know that he had stopped supporting them."

Percy laughed. "Are you suggesting that I should oppose the gods?"

"No," I laughed along too. "I'm telling you to listen to your own heart. More often than not, the gods will make mistakes. They're immortal, not perfect."

He nodded, understanding me. "But what if I make a mistake? Like a fatal mistake?"

"That's the thing. Freedom comes at a price. You can blame no one but yourself for those mistakes."

He sighed. "That's what I worry."

"But having freedom is better than anything." I said. "Think about this, if I could choose to stay at Camp Half Blood with you guys, I wouldn't hesitate a 'yes' and I'd deal with some consequences later. It all depends on what you're risking and what it is that you're risking consequences for."

He stayed quiet for a moment thinking hard on what I said. "What if I remembered you? That would be my own choice at my own risk. I'm pretty sure the gods could think of some consequences to that decision."

"You can't-"

"But you just said-"

"Think about the natural consequences. Somehow, even if one person knew about me, word would get out. They'd find out about the other camps and war would break out. That's risking Camp Half Blood's safety." I paused remembering that vivid dream I had of the camps ignited with flames along with the Argo II. "Can you imagine the Romans burning down camp? I sure couldn't, but I know you've thought about it."

His eyes became glassy. "So there really is nothing we can do." He choked. I hugged him tight.

Awkward as it is, I smelled him I tried my hardest to remember every little thing about my brother. Sure I remembered his past, but here he was in physical form. You can never capture the essence of a person by memories. I lived in the moment and cried onto his shoulder. Tears flowed from my eyes, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I'm losing my other half.

Sure we weren't the brother and sister type. We didn't have that comfortable back and forth witty banter, or those snide remarks the way siblings always talk, but I am a girl created after him. Nothing can separate us. Not even memory.

I suddenly realized that there was a big difference between the two of us other than gender. Percy wasn't exactly level headed, but he was cool and collected when he thought on his feet, whereas I would stumble and fall if I hadn't thought through a plan first. He was able to handle people such as Annabeth when she was not in such a great mood. He had patience with Tyson and Grover growing up.

I don't think I could have ever found friendship in them if I didn't know Percy's past. So many things have changed about all of them over the years.

Percy and I went around taking pictures of everything. He took some great ones that displayed everyone's personality. Annabeth, reading the sibylline books; Rachel, painting something abstract; Grover and his tin cans; Clarisse, flipping Maimer like a baton; Travis and Connor, stealing all of the Aphrodite cabin's nail polish; Piper and Jason, saying their last goodbyes; Hazel, gingerly picking up every jewel that popped up; Frank, teaching the Ares cabin some new war methods; Leo, trying to sneak his drawing of the Argo II into his cabin; Tyson, following the butterfly from before; and other stuff.

Percy told me to wait at the Big House while he retrieved something from his cabin. Instead of listening, I followed him. "Oh, Claire." He grinned. "I was going to give this to you." He gave me a picture from his camp luggage of him, Mom, and Paul. "I found it in here." He brought out a box labeled _"Camp Memories" _

He pulled out a little figurine of Hades. "Huh, Mythomagic." He looked at me and saw me pale. "Is he-"

"No," I pursed my lips to keep from crying. "Haven't seen him since sector sixteen."

Percy didn't know what to say, at least from what I could tell. "I-I'm sorry-"

"It's not your fault. I just wish I knew why." Percy put the Mythomagic figure into my hand.

I wished I knew why Nico hadn't seen me. I'm pretty sure he had heard about my farewell day today. That just pained me even more.

Well, it was too late to do anything about Nico's absence because Chiron had sounded the horn. The camps were to come together and then the Romans had to return to their camp again.

I said one last farewell to everyone and left with Hephaestus.

* * *

I was told that Mnemosyne changed the Greek's and the Roman's memories making them believe that Annabeth/ Reyna had saved everyone from the wrath of Gaea. Something having to do with a Mark from Athena/ Minervera? I don't know.

Percy and Jason never remember being switched, and Jason and Piper's relationship was not salvaged. However Aphrodite is trying to work on that situation.

Nico, I don't know what happened to him and probably never will. That is what has been killing me the most. He never said goodbye and he never will remember me. Now, I just wish I could forget him. That would make everything easier.

All I know is, when I arrived at the mansion, I ran into my designated room, threw the gifts my friends have given to me onto the floor, plopped onto my bed, and tried to cry. I had run out of tears, so I couldn't. Instead of crying, the pain built up inside of me waiting for release. I punched my pillow. Only one thought remained:

_My life is a freaking secret._

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**WAhahahahahahaha! I'm literally crying. I have nothing to do now! *Hyperventilates* **

**If you haven't reviewed yet, I encourage you to do so. Even if it's just a smiley face. It let's me know that you read it and they give me fuzzy feelings inside! ;)**

**One last thing: I also have a story out there called Camp Half Blood Prom. It's more like a funny cliche fanfic. I could use your amazing reviewing skills on that one. Thanks.**

**-Eri :D**


	20. Can't Help but Wonder

**So I didn't know whether to call this the last chapter or the epilogue... This bit was done before the rest of the story was finished because I needed to get my ideas for the ending out of my system. So originally, this was the epilogue, but Soren and Scarlet are right. I can't have it end so depressingly! So I think I will call this the last chapter... it doesn't matter. You guys can decide what to call it, but I'l label it Epilogue for now...**

**This epilogue is in present tense (Which is why I ended up calling it the epilogue). Don't get confused with the last couple chapters tense, I know I did... Ugh, it was quite hard to switch from past to present... **

**I hope you guys like it :)**

**For the last and final time- except for the deleted parts,**

**-Eri :'(**

**Disclaimer: I try to write like Rick, even thought I know I have my own style. But I'm not Rick and have never and most likelt **_**will **_**never own PJO of HOO. Rick Riordan will always be my hero, isn't he yours?**

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Epilogue

So now I spend my days living with Hephaestus and Aphrodite. You wouldn't believe what types of fights they get into. Every dinner conversation ends with some comment about Ares. I had thought about moving to the Underworld with Hades, and then I remembered that Nico lives there. So I'm not allowed. Poseidon offered to take me in, but I told him that being underwater would be too much for me, even though I just really wanted to stay with Hephaestus. I don't know what it is about him, but he comforts me. Maybe it's his warm glow . . . I don't know. I'm just glad to call him my dad.

Hephaestus gave me my own wing in his mansion.

My own freaking wing.

He made me a room in the southern wing that is an exact replica of the Fifth cohort. You can call me obsessed, but if I'm living for eternity I want my room to remind me of my friends each and every day. I have a special shelf for all of my gifts given to me on Farewell Day. And yes, I made it a holiday.

I placed Hazel's jewels in a display case and Annabeth's camera on the center shelf. Oh! And I don't think I ever told you! The box that Frank had given me had a note inside.

_Claire,_

_Are you having a good time in Hephaestus's mansion? We miss you very much, even if we can't remember. Life must go on even if we disagree with where the Fates have taken us. I hope you don't mind, but I have a favor to ask you. I thought of a good idea. No one can control my death or destiny like you said because now my life is in your hands._

_Frank_

I look back in the box to find Frank's piece of wood. His toothpick of life lies at the bottom of the box. I hold it close to my chest. The closest thing I'll have to another half-blood is this form of life.

I have Annabeth's pictures blown up and put into frames. And I have a huge portrait of the picture Percy gave me hanging in my room. Hephaestus thinks that it would be a good idea to hang the rest of them in the _Forbidden Reminiscence _room. In that large room is the Argo II, the sibylline books the jumpsuits used in Gaea's underground lair, and the stygian iron weapons. We have designed the room where all of the scenes of the war could be projected on the walls, but we still have more plans for it. I spend a lot of time in that room, roaming the halls of the Argo II. It took us seven months to get this far and we have a lot more work to go.

My third favorite room, besides the other two is the library. Hephaestus created a whole library for me to use.

My own personal library.

At first I thought: _What, in all of Olympus, am I going to do with books? Like, actually read? _I thought he was crazy! But since I'm not allowed to go anywhere or see anyone, reading has become a great past time for me. Surprisingly, one of my favorites is The Odyssey. It's a _terribly _long book, but I find it amazing how much the gods were involved in the world back then as to now. Though, I wish that someone would come out with a modern version of Homer's writing. It's like reading Zoe Nightshade's accent on paper.

Sometimes I enjoy studying my schoolbooks. I know that some teens would DIE to have a life without school, but learning has never ending possibilities. I enjoy learning the study of Kinesiology (even though my body wasn't formed the same way a natural human's was) and the books on Trigonometry (even though I have a calculator basically built into my memory base).

Anyway, I'm living life, a lonely life. I miss all of my camp friends and being able to laugh with them. I even miss Leo and his annoying nonstop voice. But never the less, I have a great family (sometimes I get to see Poseidon, but never my mom, Sally). Aphrodite, Hephaestus and I always eat dinner together. Though I try to weasel myself out of the dinners that include fighting. Yes, Aphrodite is the one usually to cause the fights. Most of the time it's because of another affair with Ares like it is tonight:

Hephaestus and I can see that Aphrodite is up to something. Earlier she was wearing a skimpy dress that revealed a little too much. Now for dinner she has changed. However she still has on globs of makeup everywhere. "So, what did you do today?" Hephaestus asks generally, but even I can tell that it is directed at Aphrodite.

She doesn't answer him first so I do. "Studied. I've decided to take up Astrophysics." I say as I let the soup pour into my spoon.

"Why Astrophysics?"

I smile to myself as I think about Quirgy and Cooper. I wonder where they ended up. I wonder what they see in the Underworld. "No reason." I answer.

Hephaestus turns to Aphrodite. She cannot get out of it this time. "How about you, dear?"

"Mm, nothing much." The love goddess announces timidly.

My father eyes her suspiciously. "Nothing? You're _always _up to something." Anyone would know what he is implying.

"Just a few trips to Olympus. That Annabeth girl has me posing again for a statue."

"You didn't like her other ones?" I ask.

My godly mother shakes her head. "Eh, they don't showcase my godly presence. I mean look at this! Do you know how hard it is to transform stone into something like this?" She expresses with her hands. However Annabeth has already created thirteen statues of Aphrodite since the war. "Plus, I'm trying ever so hardly to get Jason and Piper back together. I've asked Mnemosyne to slip little visions of one another in both of their minds from time to time."

Hephaestus and I raise an eyebrow simultaneously. "Nothing else?" He asks.

She shrugs. "Nah,"

Hephaestus shovels some baked potatoes into his mouth. "How is my brother? Did you see him today?"

She shrugs again.

All is quiet for ten minutes. _I have to intervene, _I think. "Aphrodite, Hephaestus and I saw you and Ares on some beach in . . . Malibu, was it?"

"You were spying?!" She exclaims. Her fork clatters to the floor.

My father raises his voice. "How can I not! You are always _hanging _onto him! I may not be as attractive or as _smooth _as him_, _but I thought after the war this relationship had gotten better! Is my intelligence and love for you not good enough anymore?"

"You don't love me, you never loved me! I'm the goddess of love so don't you lie! And our marriage wasn't based on love anyway. It was arranged!" She screams.

"Hmph," Hephaestus turns away. "What you have with Ares is not love it's lust!"

And she screams at him again.

So, I quietly slip out of the dining room and cuddle up under my sheets to finish my life's messed up story on my laptop. It's like a diary to store all of my thoughts and experiences.

Besides Annabeth's, this laptop is one of the first modified laptops for demigods. I am allowed to use it without attracting monsters. Usually demigods aren't allowed to use laptops, cell phones, or even watch TV because using electronics that require satellites send up signals to monsters that basically say 'Here I am! A yummy delicious demigod lunch!' But Hephaestus rewired my laptop for me so that the satellite can't be interfered by another source. It's actually even better than Annabeth's, you know why? It's a _new _Mac. She just has Daedalus' old laptop. It's like a dinosaur.

So I save my file on the Secret Side to the Mark of Athena, and quietly close my laptop. "Gods, I'm bored." I say as I plop down onto my stack of pillows. I reach over and grasp the tiny Hades figurine that lives on my nightstand.

I examine the little thing. It looks nothing like the real Hades. The real Hades has sharp features. His chin isn't exactly 'chiseled', but it has a pointy effect. Nico looks just like his father but with an Italian twist.

I sigh. That's one thing I'm truly upset about. I never got even a picture of Nico. Not one.

I cried for him a week and a half after I was banished to this lonesome place. I had wonderful dreams of us living on that island so long ago, but I'd wake up in hope that he'd be somewhere in my room waiting. I'd check the sides of my bed wanting him to be there so I could snuggle my back up to his.

Everyday I'd go through my pile of pictures making sure I didn't miss one of him. Thats when I remember that he wasn't there for Farewell Day.

I stare at the wall and think. _Don't you wish you could be with them? _

Voices in my head always seem to make me feel worse at times like this, times when I have nothing else to occupy me.

_Tell them the truth. Don't you wish you could show Annabeth up? Oh, I know you do. You'd try to make her look like a fool at any chance you got. _

I do wish that I could tell my friends what happened, though I love Annabeth. I would never do anything to make her look bad, at least not now. I shut my eyes in frustration. I just still cannot believe that everyone thinks _Annabeth _saved the day.

_Go._

How can I just go? Is it that simple? Just go to Camp Half Blood and surprise everybody? What about the gods?

_Who cares about the gods? They plan to keep you caged up in this mansion forever. You'll live forever. Don't you understand?_

I do. I know I never will be able to die due to myunnatural life. Hades said that if I helped him, he'd give me back my soul and let me live. Because I helped him, he can never take hold of my soul and I'll never die. So I'm stuck here. I'll never end up in the Elysium like I promised Nico.

I twirl the Mythomagic toy in my hand and sigh. I examine the toy closer. It doesn't even look like Nico.

Nico doesn't even remember me . . . If I could only see one person for one minute, it would be Nico. He's been there with me throughout this entire journey. I miss him. He was more than a friend, more than a brother, he was . . . oh gods, I can't even say it. I'll burst into tears!

I loved him.

I sigh. I decide to go take a relaxing shower to wash away my worries. Ha, like that'll work. As I get up from the bed, a knock comes from my door.

Oh dear lord. If Aphrodite is coming to me _again _to help explain how 'experimenting love with others causes no harm' then I think I will die. "Aphrodite, if you'd just stop messing around with Ares Hephaestus might just-" I open the door.

There stands a boy with messy, dark, brown hair, olive skin and an extremely heavy aviators jacket.

Nico.

He's here. I quickly slam the door in his face. Holy crunch- _Does he remember anything? _I think for a moment. _Does he remember me? _

This is obviously a dream right? I'm just hallucinating. Right? I open the door again, slowly, unsure of what I might find.

There he stands. The Hades boy, whom I was to befriend.

_How could he not remember me? Is it possible that he forgot the endless nights under the stars on that island, the journey to the camps, our kidnapping, the special moments shared between us? Could he forget my death?_

He has a weird expression on his face, an emotion that I cannot read. I can feel the tension backing up in my chest. I think I stop breathing. He stops too. Soon I think that our lungs will run out of oxygen and we'll turn purple and explode.

Now I just can't hold it anymore. "Do," I start afraid of my words. "Do you . . . _remember_?" My voice is soft and light, unlike anything that usually comes out of my mouth. I swallow hard.

Nico nods with that weird wide-eyed expression on his face. Then his smirky smile creeps onto his lips. He breathes a laugh. "Mark of Athena _my_ _butt_." He says.

I just can't help smiling. _He actually remembers! _I look up at him and he reaches for my cheek. His smirk turns into a sultry smile. And slowly, ever so slowly, he pulls me in for a kiss.

It is a kiss that makes my heart thump, my mind race, and my stomach do flips. He's kissed me on the cheek before, and I kissed him goodbye, but this is a _real _kiss. Not a heartfelt goodbye kiss, or a pity kiss, this is an, _I missed you_ type of kiss.

His lips don't taste like death, for the record, it actually feels . . . lively. I can feel the warmth radiating off of his body, and the places on my jaw where his hand touches me are tingling with shocks of electricity. His lips move _so _slowly against mine and his forehead leans on my own while we catch our breath. He comes in again and this time I participate.

I back up guiding him into my room as he pulls my body closer to his. This is a sensation that I have never experienced before and I love it.

He leans his forehead on mine again and lets his eyelashes tickle my face as he lets his hands lay around my waist. "I'm sorry I didn't show up to the shroud burning or you special goodbye day. I have a good reason-" He kisses once more.

I break the kiss with a whisper. "Oh yeah? What's the reason?"

His leans back from our embrace. "I kept myself away so Mnemosyne could not alter my memory into believing such lies." _That's why he wasn't there?_

I see the slightest curve of a smile on his mouth. "You sly little-" And he cuts me off with akiss.

_Your welcome. _Mnemosyne voice sounds in my head. Was she in on this secret plan too?

He pulls his head back. "As for missing your return at the shroud burning, I went to advise my father first about where you were. He said you were in his realm so I didn't worry as much."

He holds me close and I fall into his embrace. "So what happens now?" I ask as I search deeply in his eyes.

"Well," His whisper is low and soft. I feel its vibrations run through my body as I shiver. "Only Mnemosyne and Hades know about this. I'm sure Aphrodite will sense us together somehow, but I plan to secretly visit you often, that is, if it's okay with you."

I can't help but smile. "Of course,"

Next thing you know we talk the rest of the night about the events of the past few months and do some more kissing. I can't forget the kissing.

_So Nico knows the _true _story of the 'Mark of Athena'. I bet he never doubted that I exist. He didn't say goodbye to me for this reason and he knew he'd see me again. He's my best friend . . . or maybe something more now. I'm just glad that he knows. I'm glad that I'm not so lonely anymore. Though, I can't help but wonder. Will everyone, at any point in the future, ever remember the secret side to the mark of Athena?_

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**I'm sorry that it was short. I felt that if I put too much in this chapter I'd ruin it. I hope you guys had fun on this journey with Claire. :) The Secret Side to the Mark of Athena's status will say complete but I will put up the portions of this fanfic that I've taken out later. Haha.**

**-Eri :D**


	21. DELETED SCENE

**Here is one deleted scene that I found. Just so you know, I took it out for a reason, so don't yell at me if it's short and stupid. I already know. :)**

**-Eri :D**

**It starts at the awkward part between Octavian and Claire.**

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Deleted Scene #1:

Well, we walked into the dining pavilion and we smiled at each other before going our separate ways. I watched as Octavian sheepishly shuffled to the senate table. Forever things will be awkward between us...

I approached our table. "Hey guys." No one was looking at me. That's when I realized that Percy wasn't there. "Where's Percy?" I asked.

"Why don't you tell us!" Annabeth snapped back.

Thalia pulled her into an assuring hug. "Chill out okay Annabeth?" Thalia spoke calmly.

I placed my tray on the table. "What's going on?" I asked. What were they keeping from me?

"Percy is . . . missing." Jason explained.

Missing? How could he be _missing?_ I would be a whole lot calmer if we were in Camp Half blood. At least he knows the surrounding area. We're in California! I would be surprised if he even knew where California is on the map! He could be anywhere.

"Missing? When did he go missing?" I said sitting down next to Grover.

"Right after breakfast." Annabeth told trying to hold back the sobs.

"Where could he have gone?" I wondered out loud. Grover leaned over and whispered in my ear.

"I can't even get a connection through the empathy link. Don't tell Annabeth though, you do not want to see her in meltdown mode."

I listened to his advice and collected my thoughts. "When was the last time you guys saw him?"

"At breakfast. He told us he was going to iris message his mom, remember?" Travis said.

I pursed my lips. "No one saw him after that?"

"We've tried everything. It was just a normal day until he left." Hazel explained.

"Did he pack his-"

"No." Nico sighed sullenly. "Everything is still on his bed."

"Well is anyone out there searching for him?" I asked. Everyone looked back down at their plates. "What? None of you guys thought of searching for him, did you?" Then Nico mumbled something incoherent. "What?" He mumbled again. "Nico, speak up."

"The um . . ." He coughed the word 'cyclopses', "are still . . ." Silence hung in the air.

"Cyclopses are still out there?" I exclaimed. Annabeth let it all out.

Her lunch tray clattered to the floor. "Great job, here comes the meltdown." Grover sighed.

"Eigh mos od upit lookig ad he sill id missig!" She put her head in her hands and cried. Most of the boys looked as confused as ever, but girls have some weird translator inculcated into their minds. She said 'Eight months of stupid looking and he still is missing!'. Piper and Thalia started rubbing her back. I could care less for her at the moment. My brother's life is in danger, and it's my job to protect it.

"So you're telling me that Percy's out there fighting _stupid_ cyclopses, while you guys are sitting here sulking." Everyone looked up at me with sour faces. "Well, it's the truth!" I said. Seriously! Can't they try?

"I'm not stupid!" Tyson yelled on the verge of crying. Oh, crap.

"Oh, Tyson, I didn't mean-"

"I'm not stupid!" He yelled again drowning me out.

I sighed. "I know you're not-"

"_You're _stupid!" He yelled. The table nodded in agreement.

"Will you liste-"

"You are stupid!" He yelled louder.

"Tyson Shh!"

"Say you are stupid." He said.

"No, Tyson-"

"Say it!" He bellowed. Now the whole dining pavilion stared at the scene we were making. I decided to do the boldest and probably the most dumb thing in my entire life. I stood up and climbed up on the table.

I drew in a deep breath. I looked back to Tyson who dropped a tear from his eye. "I'm stupid." I said barely audible. I looked to Tyson for confirmation, but he crossed his arms and looked away still mad, so I let it all out. "I, CLAIRE JACKSON, AM STUPID!" I yelled. My voice echoed across the cafeteria. The whole room filled with laughter as I got down with my face beet red. I turned toward the fifth cohort table which was filled with people trying to hold in their laughs. Tyson seemed satisfied though. I held my head high as I walked over to Tyson.

"I'm sorry." He nodded his forgiveness, still in shock that I actually stood on the table. Then I turned to the rest of the group. "Now," I said with pride in my voice, or at least whatever was left of it. "To prove my _stupidity_," The Stoll brothers snickered at that one, "I am going to save my brother from the-" I looked at Tyson, "Smart cyclopses."

"You can't go out there!" Leo got up and rushed to me. "They'll eat you alive!"

"Look, I don't know what Percy means to you guys, but he's my brother. I know he doesn't really like me at the moment . . ." Dakota mumbled an agreement. "But, He is still a part of me. Literally." I got up and walked to the Fifth Cohort leaving my friends back there staring at me in awe.

Gods, after what just happened, can I call them friends?

* * *

**Funny parts. :)**


	22. DELETED SCENES

The second deleted scenes section. :) I shall label this chapter- The Awkward Ones.

These little clips are just a bit awkward, out-of-place, and just plain strange.

* * *

Originally the Argo II wasn't in chapter 7. Leo took a plain rowboat which is where this short scene takes place on.

"Leo that's practically incest!" Nico exclaimed.

Now, if you look up incest in the dictionary it says: INCEST- sexual relations between two people who are too closely related to be married.

Since when did I have a sexual relationship with Leo?

Just thinking about that makes me want to barf.

"Guys-" I tried to stop them.

"Not now!" They both yelled at me.

"She's my girl!" Leo claimed me. How dare he try to take possession of me! I had a bad enough start of the day already by almost becoming a cyclops lunch. I didn't need him to ruin the rest.

"No she's not."

"Why? You want her to be _your _girl." Leo joked. Nico blushed.

I pinned Leo on the floor and his face was priceless- complete surprise. I think he was surprised because I sat on his abdomen. A bad move on my part... "Listen here, I. Am. No. One's. Girl." I swear, it was like I was shooting daggers into his eyes. I loosened my grip on his shoulders. "Girls are not property. And if you think otherwise, you're in for a _real_ ride Valdez." I pouted and got off of him.

My feet pounded on the floorboards of the deck as I stormed off to the other side of the rowboat, which was in reality less than two yards away from where I was originally. I turned away from them and watched the ocean as I willed the waves to take us back to Camp Jupiter faster. I didn't want to spend any extra unnecessary time with Leo.

* * *

This short dialogue takes place in chapter 12 when Claire hears the loud eruptions right before the gang runs into the ghostly veterans of Camp Half Blood.

_Boom, boom, boom. _The deafening sounds shook up my insides. It did not feel very comfortable.

I turned to look at the guys who were covering heir ears. "I think I-" Leo said some words that was inaudible.

"WHAT?" I yelled back.

A vein bulged from his neck. "I THINK I LOST-" And something else...

I still couldn't hear him. "WHAT?" He walked up to me placing his mouth three inches away from my ear. Then the ear-splitting sound stopped.

"I THINK I LOST A FILLING FROM THE VIBRATIONS!" He yelled in my face. His face calmed down, but his face was still a bit pink. "Woops, sorry. Too loud?" He added.

I massaged my ear. "Yeah," I replied. "just a little."

* * *

Some part... I don't know where it's from...

"Alaska 722,718 in population." Someone said behind us. Ella!

Percy was shocked. "Ella! What are you doing here?"

"Flew here. Thought you needed help. The Help. A novel in 2009 written by Kathryn Sockett. A major motion film produced by DreamWorks in 2011." Boy, this could get old really fast.

Oh wait, it just did.

* * *

Awkward part after Octavian almost kissed Claire under Aphrodite's sick influence. 

"I just have one question though..." I said as we were only a few yards away from the wonderful smelling food inside the pavilion.

"What?"

"Why were you going to kiss me?" He blushed at my question. "I mean, there's a three-year age difference between us, I'm a Greek, plus I'm new." I counted the cons on my fingers. "And from what Percy's memories are telling me, you don't hang with people who have of lower status, much less a Greek."

His shoulders shrugged. "I don't know... I just liked you." He admitted.

"Wait... _Liked. _As in past tense?"

"Yeah." He drawled out not sure if he was... well, _sure_. "I don't know." He thought for a moment. "I guess it is past tense. I don't feel that way now..."

Stupid Aphrodite's curse.

* * *

This part happened before they gang entered Gaea's lair. 

We decided to hide Nico in the trees, that way mosters wouldn't see him right away. Jason flew up to the fifth branch of a large tree and gently placed Nico on top.

He decended so delicately, he could be superman. "That ought to do it." He said dusting off his hands.

I peered behind Jason to watch Nico slip off the branch and land in a bush of prickly thorns. "I guess that works too." said Leo.

* * *

Originally, I had Thalia helping Claire after the "Practice Session" with Clarisse instead of Percy.

"So, I've been called Percy's female equivalent by many people. Does that make me equal to you?" Thalia asked me.

I gulped. "Nah, I have Percy's memories, not his personality. I've ben finding that out on my own."

She nodded. "Yeah, I wasn't so sure. I mean, like you, I would have definitely kicked Clarisse's butt if I had the chance." We smiled and she bandaged me up a bit more. "She did bruise you up pretty bad, huh?" I winced when she hit a darkened bruise/

I pursed my lips. "I think that all electric weapon should be banned from _all_ camps." She laughed.

"_Camps." _She repeated._ "_I wonder how many there are out in the world."

I never thought of it, but Thalia was right. How many demigods could there be in the world? There are thousands of Mythologies and apparently they _all _exist. Egyptian, Sumerian, Babylonian, Norse... Oh, what a scary thought. I think my brain just exploded.

* * *

Pathetically stupid, but whatever. They aren't actually part of the story altogether. There's more, but I have to organize them... Anyway, I hope you guys liked that. And one little announcement... THE MARK OF ATHENA! Finished it all too fast! I wont spoil anything, but it was amazing! I loved it. Love, love, love, LOVED it! AHHH! :)

Until next time, Eri :D


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